Aref made the remarks on Saturday at a planning meeting for the upcoming summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization, which will be held in Tehran.
Stating that fostering engagement and expanding relations with regional nations is a key strategy of the current administration and, in particular, a priority for President Masoud Pezeshkian, he noted that Iran’s standing within regional groupings has improved significantly compared to the past.
He attributed the increased interactions and cooperation to Pezeshkian’s personal approach and style, as well as the performance of executive bodies and reciprocal positive moves by the regional countries.
Referring to the ECO meeting in Iran, he said experience has shown that the country achieves greater success in summits as a host, adding that officials from participating nations have consistently left Iran with a positive impression.
On the ECO itself, Aref expressed disappointment that the 10-nation organization — initially founded by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey — has unfortunately not been able to perform as effectively as it should have since its inception in 1985.
He said the leaders of the member states need to expand their activities to enhance their collaboration within the ECO framework, enabling the organization to reclaim its proper regional standing
Aref continued by noting that ECO members share deep historical and civilizational ties with Iran, providing a solid foundation for expanding regional cooperation, especially among nations across Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the region east of Iran.
ECO promotes economic, trade and transport cooperation among its 10 members, namely Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
