Iran foreign minister due in Islamabad for two-day ECO meeting
The 30th ECO Council of Ministers session on November 15 and 16 will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is travelling to Islamabad for the 30th Council of Ministers meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization, according to Iranian media reports carried by Minute Mirror, as Pakistan hosts foreign ministers and heads of delegations from member states on November 15 and 16.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will chair the session, Minute Mirror reported. Foreign ministers and heads of delegations from ECO member countries are expected to attend, along with representatives of the ECO Secretariat and its affiliated institutions.
Minute Mirror reported that Araghchi was scheduled to depart for Islamabad on Sunday evening, citing Iranian media. A post carried on Facebook said the Iranian foreign minister travelled to Pakistan that evening, and that Iranian media reported on Sunday, November 15, that the purpose of the visit was the 30th ECO meeting.
According to the reports, the two-day session covers regional cooperation, economic partnerships among member states and shared priorities for the organisation. The Council of Ministers meeting is the 30th ministerial-level session of the regional body, which Iran and Pakistan both belong to as member states.
Minute Mirror said Iranian media confirmed Araghchi's participation and presented the Islamabad meeting as a chance for closer coordination among regional countries on economic and diplomatic matters.
Pakistan's hosting of the session was described in the reports as part of its role in facilitating regional diplomatic engagement and multilateral cooperation among the member states.
No separate statement from Pakistan's Foreign Office on Araghchi's arrival or on the agenda was carried in either report.
The 30th session follows the pattern of previous ECO ministerial meetings, at which member states review economic ties and set priorities for the organisation's secretariat and affiliated bodies.
How the reports differ
Minute Mirror reported that Araghchi was scheduled to depart for Islamabad on Sunday evening and named Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar as chair of the two-day session. The Facebook post, citing Iranian media on Sunday, November 15, said he had already travelled to Pakistan that evening and carried no detail on the agenda or the chair.
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