ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri left for Afghanistan aboard a special aircraft on Friday to attend the 17th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) in Herat.

During the meeting scheduled for Saturday, Pakistan will push for the early operationalisation of ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA). The pact is expected to enter into force shortly and will lead to the establishment of a free trade area in the region by the year 2015.

Pakistan is the ECO’s coordinating country for ECOTA and in the last one year it has hosted over a dozen ECO meetings.

Also high on the agenda will be the establishment of an ECO-wide power grid that will enable Pakistan to import electricity from certain ECO member states that generate surplus power including Iran, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

In this context Pakistan will seek early completion of a study being conducted by the Nespak to develop regional interconnectivity options with a view to facilitating regional trade in electricity. Data has already been collected from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Kyrgyz Republic.

Under a bilateral arrangement Pakistan has already agreed to purchase 1000MW from Iran.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Minister’s Office on Friday the meeting will review progress achieved so far on major ECO projects, including the ECO Trade Agreement, the ECO Trade and Development Bank, which is to commence operations by the end of 2007, the Transit Transport Framework Agreement and the feasibility study on interconnection of power systems of member states.

“The ECO meeting will provide a useful opportunity to consolidate Pakistan’s active role in the ECO. Among other issues, Pakistan is keenly interested in establishment of the ECO Reinsurance Company and the ECO Science Foundation, both of which are to be based in Pakistan,” the statement said.

During the visit Foreign Minister Kasuri will also call on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss important bilateral and regional matters. He will also hold a trilateral meeting with his Afghan and Iranian counterparts.

Both the meetings are scheduled for Saturday. A number of bilateral meetings are also on the cards.

Mr Kasuri will return on Saturday evening.