Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad handed presidency of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) to his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in an official ceremony held in Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday, FNA reported.
Addressing the audience in the11th ECO Summit, Ahmadinejad expressed his gratitude towards all presidents and senior officials of the ECO member states, and handed over the organization's presidency to Ankara.
Briefing the audience on Iran's performance during its two-year presidency, he said several meetings were held in the past two years in different fields of trade, investment, transportation, energy, mines, environment, agriculture, tourism and health.
The maps of international rail transportation corridors were finalized in the period, he reiterated.
During the Islamic Republic of Iran's presidency, the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul container train was inaugurated while preparations were made for inauguration of Bandar Abbas-Marv-Tashkent-Almaty cargo train, the President further announced.
He expressed hope that during the Turkey's presidency, the organization would witness great developments.
Ahmadinejad traveled to Istanbul on Wednesday to participate in the 11th ECO summit of the heads of state on Thursday.
The Iranian president is also due to hold meetings with Turkish officials and other ECO heads of state on the sidelines of the summit.
Moreover, representatives from the ECO Secretariat, ECO subsidiary organs and a number of international organizations are expected to attend the meetings.
The 10th ECO summit was held in Tehran in March 2009.
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 ECO is an ad hoc organization under the United Nations Charter.
The common objective is to establish a single market for goods and services, much like the European Union. ECO's secretariat and cultural department are located in Tehran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is situated in Pakistan. The organization was founded by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan.
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are the current members of ECO.
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