Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will embark on a two-day visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan tomorrow (January 23) to attend the 26th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO).

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Foreign Office (FO) said that the theme of conference was ‘Year of Strengthening Connectivity’.

Bilawal will address the council and will separately hold bilateral meetings with participating ministers of member states and other dignitaries on the sidelines of the event, the statement said.

It noted that the Council of Ministers was the ECO’s policy-making forum which approved the organisation’s decisions and annual workplan. The 25th Council of Ministers was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in November, 2021.

“As a founding member, Pakistan remains strongly committed to ECO which aims at promoting effective regional cooperation, with special focus on communications, trade, culture and connectivity,” the statement said.