Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi on Sunday underlined the importance of expansion of interregional trade exchange between the member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).

Addressing the Twenty-Sixty Meeting of the ECO Regional Planning Council (RPC) that started in Tehran today, Araqchi said Iran sees ECO as a proper vehicle for promoting regional cooperation.

ECO, he said, has brought important achievements for regional development.

However, the organization needs new structure for cooperation, he added noting that ECO Regional Planning Council plays a leading role to that end.

Araqchi also underlined the need to discuss the ECO Vision 2025 on which Iran has already expressed its preliminary point of view.

The 26th Meeting of the ECO Regional Planning Council is holding the five-day (Dec. 13-17) annual conference.

According to the ECO website, the Regional Planning Council plays an important role in promoting aims and objectives of ECO.

The Council is assisted with eight review committees in its task. The plans and programs endorsed by the RPC are submitted to the Council of Ministers (COM) for approval.

Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States.

At present, ECO has 10 members including Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.