Foreign delegates from regional and friendly countries began arriving in Islamabad on Sunday for the 30th meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Council of Ministers, which commences today, November 15, 2026.
The Foreign Office (FO) stated that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye and head of the Turkish delegation, Musa Kulaklikaya, arrived in the federal capital on Sunday and was received at the airport by FO officials. Other high-level arrivals on Sunday included Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ahmad Saidmurodzoda, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Arman Issagaliyev. Additionally, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrived in the capital to participate in the proceedings.
The meeting, which runs through November 16, will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. It will be attended by foreign ministers and heads of delegations from ECO member states, as well as representatives from the ECO secretariat and its subsidiary bodies. The Foreign Office said the meeting will be preceded by a Meeting of Senior Officials (SOM) of ECO Member States to review the organisation's activities and programmes, assess the work of its subsidiary bodies, and finalise the agenda and draft outcome documents.
The Foreign Office stated on Saturday that Pakistan, as chair of the ECO for 2026-2027, will seek to advance the organisation's objectives under the theme "Reviving Regionalism for a Resilient ECO." The chairmanship aims to strengthen regional connectivity and integration, deepen partnerships, and promote cooperation for sustainable development and shared prosperity. The FO added that Pakistan intends to position itself as a regional connectivity hub, facilitate logistics supply chains, and help shape the agenda for regional trade to unlock the region's economic potential.
Earlier, on Saturday, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, reached the federal capital to participate in the meeting.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to attend the huddle in Islamabad amid ongoing Middle East conflict with mediators Pakistan and Qatar making efforts to broker peace deal between Iran and the US.
