The ECO Bank delegation headed by Mr. Murat Ulus (President) has attended to the 20^th Meeting of Regional Planning Council (RPC) of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) held in Antalya, the Republic of Turkey, on 16-18 February, 2010. The meeting was attended by officials from the Planning Organizations and relevant Ministries of the ECO Member States. The representatives of the ECO’s Specialized Agencies and Regional Institutes and international organizations were also attended the meeting. The RPC meets early every year to review the cooperation performance of the year past and to chart its course for the year to come. The Council reviewed and concluded strategies/policies on consolidating cooperation in the main cooperation areas of ECO such as trade, transport, agriculture, energy, etc. With respect to the ECO Bank, the Council appreciated the activities/operations of the Bank and setting-up of its Representative Offices in Iran and Pakistan. While welcoming the interest of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to become a member of the Bank, the Council urged the ECO Member States who have not joined the Bank yet to do so in order to take full benefit of the Bank’s operational products.

Mr. Ulus delivered a statement including assessments with regard to world economy, economic situation in the ECO region and recent developments in financial sector. He also provided information about the activities of the Bank and its perspective for future. Mr. Ulus underlined that while global economy have started to show some signs of recovery since second half of 2009, however, balanced and sustained economic growth remains fragile. Neverthless, the ECO member states should continue to take necesssary steps to prepare their economies to the changes in order to benefit fully from the expected global economic recovery over the next years. Considering that banks and other financial institutes play a crucial role in fostering economic development, the President expressed that the ECO member states should continue to ensure a well-functioning financial system.