New york: Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the 27th Informal Meeting of the ECO Council of Ministers (COM) in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, Iran Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Kyrgyz Republic Zheenbek Kulubaev, and Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin; Deputy Foreign Minister of Trkiye Berris Ekinci; Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Vepa Hajiyev; Deputy Permanent Representative of Uzbekistan to the UN Laziz Karaev; and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Beibut Kulatayev. ECO Secretary General Dr. Asad Majeed Khan also participated.

DPM/FM, as Chair of the ECO Council of Ministers for 2026-27, outlined Pakistan's priorities for the Organization, including deeper trade and economic integration, enhanced regional connectivity and transit corridors, a digitally enabled ECO Free Trade Area, and greater cooperation on climate resilience.

He underscored the need for ECO Member States to harness their collective strength to promote peace, resilience, and shared prosperity for nearly half a billion people, and expressed deep concern over the prevailing security situation in the region and the Middle East.