By an OGJ Online correspondent
HOUSTON, Mar. 5 -- Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to revive the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), an organization dedicated to the regional development of oil and gas pipelines, roads, railroads, and electricity export links with markets in the former Soviet Union's cntral Asian republics.
Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey established ECO in 1985. In November 1992, the organization was expanded to include seven new members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Since ECO's expansion, its long-term perspectives and priorities have been defined in transportation, communications, trade, investment, and energy. But the organization has yet to undertake any major regional projects.
Pakistan Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Hidayat Amin Arsala, vice-chairman and finance minister of the interim Afghan government, had a joint Feb. 26 news conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, outlining the need for pursuing regional transportation infrastructure development strategies. Amin was on a 2-day visit to Pakistan.
"There are five possible linkages with central Asia via Afghanistan that we are considering at the moment, including oil and gas pipelines, electricity grid stations, roads and rail links," Aziz said. These projects would fall under ECO.
Iran wants to lay a pipeline to Pakistan and India in addition to participate in the construction of pipelines from the central Asia republics—notably Turkmenistan—to Iran for export to western countries (OGJ, Mar. 9, 1998, p. 27). China also has proposed constructing an oil pipeline from the central Asian republics to its Xinjiang province via Afghanistan. (OGJ Online, Feb. 5, 2002).
