Statement by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the Expanded Extraordinary Meeting of OIC Executive Committee, 12 August 2014, Jeddah Statement by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu at the Meeting of Turkey-CARICOM Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism, 18 July 2014, İstanbul Speech of H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Conference on “International Development Cooperation: Trends and Emerging Opportunities -Perspectives of the New Actors”, 20 June 2014, Istanbul Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the 41st Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, 18 June 2014, Jeddah Speech Delivered by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu at the Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, 28 May 2014, Algeria Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 4th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, 21 May 2014, Shanghai Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Meeting of Group of Friends of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, 2 April 2014, New York Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the OIC Executive Committee Meeting on the Latest Developments in the Central African Republic, 20 February 2014, Jeddah Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Geneva II Conference, Montreux, 22 January 2014 Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the 16th Session of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers, 19 December 2013, Islamabad Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 29th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, 12 December 2013, Yerevan Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 21st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization, 26 November 2013, Tehran Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Member States, 25 November 2013, Manama Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the High Level Segment Meeting During the 64th Excom Meeting of UNHCR, Geneva, 30 September 2013 Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Group of Friends Ministerial Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations, 27 September 2013, New York Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting entitled “LDC Graduation: The Way Towards MDG Acceleration, Sustainable Development and Structural Transformation”, 27 September 2013, New York Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum Opening Speech by H.E. Ahmet Davutoglu Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, 27 September 2013, New York Address by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 22nd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, İstanbul, 29 June 2013 Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the 28th Ministerial Meeting of BSEC, 21 June 2013, Odessa Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the OIC Donor Conference in Support of The City of Al-Quds, Baku, Azerbaijan, 11 June 2013 Speech delivered by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Mali, 13 May 2013, Jeddah Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Somalia Conference, 7 May 2013, London Address by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Third Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process, 26 April 2013, Almaty Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the Third Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention, 9 April 2013, The Hague Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 24th Summit Meeting of the League of Arab States, 26 March 2013, Doha Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, in the University of London School of Economics and Political Science, 7 March 2013, London Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the UN Human Rights Council, 25 February 2013, Geneva Statement by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the Ministerial Meeting Preparatory to the Twelfth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, 4 February 2013, Cairo Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the Ministerial Meeting of BSEC,15 December 2012, İstanbul Opening Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, 14 December 2012, Abu Dhabi
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  5. Speech Delivered by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the 20th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), 15 October 2012, Baku
Speech Delivered by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the 20th Council of Ministers Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), 15 October 2012, Baku

Mr. Ministers,

Distinguished Colleagues,

It is indeed a great pleasure for me and my delegation to be in our brotherly country of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on the occasion of the 12th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). First of all, I would like to express my sincerest thanks and appreciation for the endeavors of the government and people of Azerbaijan for the organization of this Summit and for the warm hospitality extended to my delegation.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate my colleague H.E. Elmar Memmedyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Azerbaijan on her assuming the chairmanship in Office of the ECO. I am convinced that during its term, Azerbaijan would further the cooperation among the member states and broaden the vision of the Organization with a view to bracing it for the challenges of the future. In this regard, I would like to assure the Government of Azerbaijan that Turkey, as usual, is ready to extend its support to and share its experience with our brothers in Azerbaijan.

On this occasion, I would like to congratulate also the new Secretary General, H.E. Ambassador Shamil Aleskerov on his assumption of this duty and extend best wishes to him, with the firm conviction that he would bring new ideas and energy to our Organization.

ECO has a unique geo-strategic location, linking the East and the West. Our region, with its significant economic power, vast natural resources, and dynamic work force, has a huge development potential which we should harness in the interest of all our nations. By pursuing regional cooperation, enhancing existing relations and strengthening economic ties among the member countries, we are today much more hopeful that this organization will unearth this potential and achieve its objectives.


Dear Colleagues,

Global challenges such as economic and financial crises, energy and food security and climate change as well as regional political transformation processes in our neighbourhood call for prompt and coordinated action at regional and global levels. Therefore, regional cooperation and solidarity in these areas have become crucial more than ever.

In this regard, Turkey attaches importance to the ECO as regional platform of cooperation and solidarity. The ECO represents a very resourceful bloc of countries having a population of over 400 million, benefiting from rich energy resources and strategic geographical setting.

Furthermore, as a founding member, Turkey attaches importance to the ECO activities and considers the ECO as a multinational economic platform that contributes to the economic stability and prosperity in our region. ECO, which has now reached a mature age continues to unite us under this common vision.

Implementation of the projects in the priority areas of cooperation of ECO, such as trade, energy, agriculture, industry and transportation will certainly benefit all member states.

Therefore, strengthening and ensuring the efficiency, effectiveness and visibility of our Organization should always be our main piriority.

Six years ago, the ECO Vision 2015 document where we revised our goals and objectives to meet the new global economic challenges, as well as to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our organization was adopted in Astana.

Under the auspices of President Abdullah Gül in December 2010 in Istanbul, the 11th ECO Summit gave us the opportunity to evaluate our performance towards reaching these goals and objectiveness.

As a result of this evaluation, we have decided to establish an Eminent Persons Group (EPG) with the mandate to prepare recommendations on further steps to be taken for reviewing the work of the Organization, as well as the ECO Vision 2015. We hosted the wrap-up meeting of the EPG which was held in Istanbul on 12-14 September. The recommendations of the EPG will be submitted to this Meeting.

After having 7 consecutive meetings, I believe the EPG has come up with the important and valuable formulations and recommendations for the restructuring and reinvigoration of the ECO. As a matter of fact, the Republic of Turkey mostly concurs with the findings of EPG in the draft report as to the main shortcomings and impediments faced by the ECO.

Therefore, Turkey is of the view that, the main shortcomings faced by the organization, namely inefficient decision-making procedure, lack of interest in the meetings and the activities of the ECO by some member states, non-implementation of the decisions made by the decision-making bodies, lack of financial resources and insufficient budget and inadequate capacity of the Secretariat due to the existing recruitment system should be well-addressed with a view to finding long-term solutions to the above-referred problems.

In the absence of well-functioning long-term solutions to these problems, the objectives envisaged in the ECO Vision 2015 would be elusive.

I am confident that the outcome of the work carried out by the EPG will be instrumental in facilitating our endeavors towards achieving our 2015 Vision.

Distinguished colleagues,

It should be noted that both the integration to the world economy and the optimum utilization of the economic potential of the countries heavily depend on the capacity to strengthen regional cooperation.

Removing trade barriers in the ECO region and expansion of intra-ECO trade have always been a priority item of the ECO agenda. The ECO Vision 2015, which was adopted back in 2005, envisaged to increase intra-ECO trade to 20 percent of the overall trade figure of the member states, and with the objective of ultimately establishing a Free Trade Area by the year 2015. However, despite various efforts on the part of the member states and the Secretariat, the level of intra-ECO trade is still far from the target figure and stands at 7 percent, which is very modest figure given the huge economic potential of the member states.

In this context, the role of the ECO Trade Agreement (ECOTA) is central for expanding intra-ECO trade. We appreciate the decisions of ECOTA Cooperation Council hosted by Turkey from 2 to 3 October 2012 to put ECOTA back on track.


Turkey, on its part, is fully committed to the implementation of the ECOTA and will continue to exert every effort with a view to implementing the Agreement. We will do our best to effectuate the Agreement by January 2013 among countries submitted their lists as of 15 November 2012. On this occasion, I call on all the parties to reconsider their positions and remove the bureaucratic obstacles so that the ECOTA could be fully implemented to the benefit of all member states. In particular, I would like to call upon our brother country Tajikistan to assume its responsibilities before 15 November 2012 and join us to effectuate the Agreement.

On this particular point, I believe that the ECO Trade and Development Bank deserves special mentioning. I am pleased to observe that the Bank is taking concrete steps to become a vibrant financial institution in the ECO region. This year, Afghanistan has signed the Articles of Agreement to join the Bank and Azerbaijan formally announced its intention to join the Bank soon.


With these new prospective memberships, I am of the view that, the Bank will further strengthen its financing capacity. Availing of this opportunity, I would like to share our hope that the other member states, which have not joined the Bank yet, could follow the suit. As a founding member and host of the Bank, Turkey is ready to provide any support to facilitate the accession procedures for the prospective members.

Distinguished Ministers,

The objective of enhancing intra-regional trade would remain unattainable in the absence of a well-functioning system of transport in the region. The fact that the majority of ECO members is land-locked makes the cooperation in this field all the more important. Thus, I believe that the implementation of the Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA) would be instrumental in establishing a viable region-wide corridors of transport.



Our cooperation aiming the connection of main railway links has been developing rapidly. We have successfully activated Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad railway route in 2010. However, due to the operational and infrastructural problems along the route, the train cannot run properly. I would like to voice our determination to solve the problems faced and increase the volume of freight transported via this route in order to make it a viable corridor in the East-West axis. On this occasion, I believe that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway project which connects Europe and Asia continents deserves special mentioning/

The cooperation in the field of agriculture is also promising for the ECO member states. Given the increasing importance attached globally to the food security, the issue is also high in our agenda. Turkey, as the coordinator country of the ECO Regional Program for Food Security, has been working very actively to provide financial and technical resources for the implementation of the Program. The establishment of the Regional Coordination Center (RCC) in Ankara for implementation of the ECO Regional Program for Food Security would be materialized very soon.

On this occasion, I would like to bring also to your kind attention that the ECO Seed Association has been established in Turkey, which aims to develop seed sector in member countries, with a total budget of 400.000 US Dollars financed by Turkey and the ECO.
Availing of this opportunity, I would like to announce the Fifth ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture to be held in Antalya, Turkey, on 13-16 November, 2012. Since this meeting had to be postponed due to lack of quorum in May 2012, I call on distinguished colleagues to coordinate their national authorities in order to enable the participation of their Ministers of Agriculture in the Meeting.

I strongly believe that energy is a priority cooperation area of the ECO with a great potential to capitalize on. The ECO region has a crucial importance in the world energy markets, given the rich oil, natural gas, hydro energy and newly developing renewable and alternative resources in the region. It is important to highlight that the energy resources of ECO region should be produced and utilized in a wisely and sustainable manner while supplying them in the international markets.

We observe with pleasure that ECO countries have taken considerable steps in the field of energy within the framework of bilateral relations. However our brotherly countries and the ECO Secretariat should intensify and streamline their efforts to transform this towards a multilateral cooperation under the aegis of ECO.

Along with our projects in the priority areas, the Pakistani initiative aiming to establish a Parliamentary Forum among the ECO members, deserves special mentioning. A high level delegation from Turkish Grand National Assembly also took part in the meeting which was held in Islamabad on 4-5 September. I believe that this initiative would be very helpful in expanding our cooperation and interaction to the parliaments and peoples of the ECO region.

Distinguished Colleagues,

I am pleased to observe that our cooperation efforts in the field of education are promising. The long-awaited commencement of the ECO Educational Institute has finally been realized with the 1st Board of Trustees Meeting of the Institute, at the level of Ministers of Education of the member states. The ECO Educational Institute, a specialized agency of ECO with its headquarters in Ankara, would be very instrumental in introducing contemporary educational technologies in the Member States, encouraging and coordinating exchange programs, and promoting public awareness for addressing the existing educational problems of the region.

Let me express my pleasure on the endorsement of the observer status of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States to the ECO. I have no doubt that through this new status, cooperation between the two organizations will be further strengthened.

In the same vein, it is my sincere hope and wish from you my dear brothers and sisters that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus be also granted with the same status.

As you know, the Turkish Cypriots have been present in the ECO activities since 1992. The resolution adopted after the Annan Plan referanda in 2004, at the 14th ECO Meeting of the Council of Ministers in Dushanbe, enabled the Turkish Cypriots to participate in ECO’s economic, technical and cultural activities under the name “Turkish Cypriot State” which is used in the OIC which it already enjoys an observer status.

As an international organization focusing on economic cooperation and development, ECO provides an ideal platform for the development of economic relations with the Turkish Cypriots as envisaged by the UN Secretary-General and the OIC resolutions.

Favourably considering the Turkish Cypriots’ application for observer in the Summit will be, without doubt, a concrete result of the solidarity and cooperation among us, as the members of ECO. We trust your support.

I am confident that the 20th Meeting of the ECO Council of Ministers will give us an opportunity to evaluate the developments in our cooperation and the impetus needed for our Organization to move forward.

I thank you all.