Iran asks ECO to energy cooperation

In a meeting with ECO Secretary General Mohammed Yahya P. Maroofi on Tuesday, Qassemi said a draft of the proposed charter can be prepared jointly by the Institute for International Energy Studies (IIES) as one of most prominent centers of energy studies in the region and ECO before holding the organization's energy ministers meeting in Tehran next month. The two officials also agreed on preparing an energy charter draft. Qassemi said the draft is slated to be discussed in ECO energy ministers meeting in Tehran before being finalized and introduced to the ECO summit for examination. He further reported that ECO members would soon create a special economic zone, where those countries interested in energy activities can benefit from investment facilities. He voiced his ministry's readiness for expanding cooperation with ECO members on issues like energy, technology and providing equipments, and called boosting cooperation with neighboring and regional countries as his ministry's "priority".