ECO chief: Azerbaijan plays guiding regional role

Azerbaijan plays a guiding role for the region, the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Asad Majeed Khan, said in his statement to Report.

According to him, the world is unfortunately facing climate change and environmental problems – desertification, land degradation, floods, drought, and other issues – in this context, Azerbaijan's leadership in the COP process and sharing the experience gained in this area with the countries of the region is of great importance for the ECO: "In this regard, we have great hopes for Azerbaijan's future role and believe that it will play a guiding role for the region."

The secretary general noted that Azerbaijan is one of the most active and contributing states within the ECO framework: "The organization's latest – 17th Summit was held in Azerbaijan. It was a historic summit because we were able to bring together the entire family of ECO institutions and at the same time received important guiding recommendations from the leadership."

The ECO chief added that despite the existing challenges in the region, member states are eagerly looking forward to the meeting of ECO Tourism Ministers to be held in the city of Shusha on April 29: "I will also personally participate in this event. This meeting is particularly important because the city of Shusha will be officially declared as the ECO Tourism Capital for 2026. At the same time, Azerbaijan will present a calendar of events related to Shusha and will conduct extensive promotion towards the recognition of the city as the ECO tourism capital."

Khan added that Azerbaijan also plays an active role in the field of tourism within the ECO framework. In particular, the ECO Silk Road tourism project initiative is noteworthy in this regard.