PM arrives in Baku to attend 17th ECO Summit

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Baku on Thursday to participate in the 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) being held in Khankendi, Azerbaijan.

The summit is set to run from July 3–4, 2025, convening ECO heads of states/governments, ministers, ECO observers, special guests from non-ECO countries and heads of international organisations to achieve development and prosperity through fragile economic integration.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi are accompanying the prime minister during the two-day visit.

PM Shehbaz will address the summit and present Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global challenges and issues, and reiterate commitment to the ECO Vision 2025.

The Foreign Office (FO) had confirmed that the two-day summit was being held in Khankendi in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

In a statement ahead of the visit, the FO said the prime minister will “share Pakistan’s perspective on key regional and global challenges, reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to the ECO Vision 2025, and advocate for enhanced intra-regional trade, transport connectivity, energy cooperation, and sustainable development”.

He will also hold bilateral meetings with other ECO leaders on the sidelines of the summit to discuss matters of mutual interest, the statement added.

The theme of the summit is ‘New ECO Vision for a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Future’.

The 16th ECO summit was held from November 9, 2023, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and attended by then-caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar.

According to a statement by ECO, the summit will convene ECO heads of states/governments, ministers, observers, special guests from non-ECO countries and heads of international organisations to achieve development and prosperity through fragile economic integration.

The summit will feature a “dynamic and inclusive ECO Week”, held from July 1–4 across multiple cities in Azerbaijan. The ECO week will include a series of thematic forums aimed at advancing youth engagement, gender inclusion and economic connectivity within the region.