We expect to achieve concrete results following the Economic Cooperation Organization's (ECO) health ministers' first meeting o held Feb. 4-5 in Baku, Azerbaijani Health Minister Ogtay Shiraliyev said at the opening of the event today.
"Health Care is an important area of cooperation, so the exchange of experiences and cooperation in it can be useful for the entire region," he said. "We expect to achieve specific outcomes, as well as new opportunities for cooperation between the ECO member-countries, as a result of the meeting."
According to him, the meeting will address issues such as preventing the spread of counterfeit medicines, blood disorders and issues of blood transfusion.
"All these questions are aimed at sharing experiences and ensure of development in the region. Following the meeting will be adopted by the Baku Declaration,' he added.
Today Baku hosts meeting of the expert group chaired by Deputy Minister Health Elsever Agayev. Feb.5, there will be a meeting of ministers, which will discuss issues developed by the expert group.
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental organization involving seven Asian and three Eurasian nations. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade, and investment opportunities. The organization was founded by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan under the Izmir Agreement March 12 1977. In the fall of 1992, the ECO expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In 1995, the UN General Assembly's 50th session adopted a resolution on cooperation with the ECO and ECO has since enjoyed observer status at the UN. ECO also has observer status in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)./Trend/