ISLAMABAD, April 16: The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) has decided to identify potential areas of investment in member states to increase bilateral economic ties.

An official source in the commerce ministry told Dawn on Friday that this issue among others would be discussed at length during the ECO trade and investment conference scheduled for April 18-19 in Kabul. The conference will deliberate upon investment benefits in the region and to locate potential areas for bilateral investment among the member countries.

It would also identify and propose measures to remove all tariff and non-tariff barriers in the way of investment in the region. The states would also consider the establishment of ECO fund for the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan.