ISLAMABAD July 25: The member states of Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) have expressed their determination to coordinate and cooperate in the agriculture sector for achieving a sustainable agricultural development in accordance with their resource endowments and comparative advantages.
Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Khair Mohammad Khan Junejo, who chaired the first ever ECO’s ministerial meeting on agriculture released “Islamabad declaration” on agricultural cooperation among ECO member states, which said, “the ECO region has common vision about agriculture.”
The ministerial meeting which was inaugurated by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf at a local hotel on Thursday was also attended by Syyed Hosain Anwari, minister of agriculture of Afghanistan, Mahmoud Hojjati from Iran, Tursunbey Rakhmatov from Tajikistan and Prof. Dr. Husnu Yusuf Gokalp minister of agriculture and rural affairs and other countries represented by either their senior diplomats.
The declaration officially called as “agriculture cooperation among the ECO countries” was unanimously adopted by all the ECO delegations technical part of which says:
1) “We take note that the ECO region has a common vision about agriculture, which can be summed up as achieving a sustainable agricultural development in accordance with resource endowments and comparative advantages.
2) We take note of the importance of prioritization of the activities to be pursued by the ECO member states for effective cooperation in agriculture sector. In addition to the specific priorities identified through the joint ECO-FAO efforts we specify various priorities, indicating the member states who volun teered to coordinate, drought management (Iran), water management (Pakistan), trade promotion (Turkey), development of post harvesting and processing industry (Turkey), conservation of genetic resources, development of an ECO strategy for agricultural cooperation and exchange of information through website.
3) We reiterate our determination to help Afghanistan’s efforts to rehabilitate its agriculture sector according to the priority areas to be determined by the Afghan authorities, which may also include substitution of poppy cultivation with alternate crops.
4) We all agree to activate a mechanism of proper implementation for the agreed programmes and thus provide necessary resources.
5) Appreciating the FAO’s support to the Secretariat in formulisation of a regional programme for food security and agricultural development for ECO member states, we call upon the secretariat to continue its cooperation with FAO in approaching the other regional and international organizations to spearhead the process and to benefit from their technical and financial assistance to ECO projects.
6) We call upon the Member States to instruct their permanent representatives/ambassadors to international organizations where the agriculture related issues are discussed, to activate the ECO contact group to follow up and secure technical/financial assistance for joint programmes between ECO and these organizations.
7) We welcome the offer of the ministry of agriculture and rural affairs of the republic of Turkey to host the second ECO ministerial conference on agriculture in Turkey.
It recalled relevant articles of Treaty of Izmir, the basic charter of ECO, Quetta plan of action and Istanbul declaration, recognized the significant role of agriculture sector in economies of member states and existing considerable potential and various opportunities for forging agricultural cooperation in ECO region emphasized the necessity of direct involvement of member states in ECO programmes and projects to ensure implementation of identified priority projects.
Considering the role of WTO in regulating the world trading system and positions of member countries with regard to the present rules and regulations of agricultural trade and being aware of the challenges faced by the member states who were in accession/application process, it highlighted the progressive control mechanism through regional coordination and harmonization of sanitary and physio-sanitary rules and regulations as prerequisite for improving intra regional trade.