Bıçak Law is proud and honored to announce that the managing partner, Prof. Dr. Vahit Bıçak, has delivered a speech on the subject of “the Cooperation in trade and services, investment, payment clearance, customs and taxation, digital trade and e-commerce in ECO Region” at the Business Forum of the States-Members of the Economic Cooperation Organization held in the conference-hall of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan.

Bıçak Law team feel tremendously honored and privileged having being among distinguished professionals, friends, colleagues and so inspiring participants! Thanks each one of participants for their unique contribution in creating lifelong memories!

The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan and ECO

In the Turkmen capital, on the eve of the 15th Summit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation held in Ashgabat, a business meeting of the ECO member states took place. It was organized by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan and ECO, as well as the Secretariat of the Organization.

More than 170 delegates took part in its work, including 40 foreign, 138 domestic representatives, more than 270 participants from different countries joined the digital system.

Fruitful relations between business communities

Opening the business forum, ECO Deputy Secretary General Sayed Yahya Aklaki, expressing gratitude to the President of Turkmenistan for the warm welcome and traditional hospitality, noted the importance of the upcoming XV ECO Summit for harmonizing regional policy and building up trade ties. As the guest stressed, the current meeting will undoubtedly give a new impetus to interstate cooperation, will help expand its spectrum and strengthen fruitful relations between business communities.

Particular emphasis was placed on joint activities to build up investment opportunities and adapt the world’s best practices in this area, as well as to develop business contacts through transport and logistics services.

Expansion of trade and economic ties

The plenary session was devoted to the expansion of trade and economic ties between the ECO member states. The main goal is to discuss the achievements in this area over the past 30 years, from the date of accession of the Central Asian countries to the Organization, exchange views on key issues in priority areas.

Economic and investment relations

The head of the ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Gholam Hossein Shofei, expressed gratitude to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for organizing the meeting and expressed confidence that the results of the current business forum will give a powerful impetus to the intensification of trade, economic and investment relations.

The ECO member states have rich natural and human resources, have ample opportunities for expanding economic activity in the future. In this context, it was stated that one of the tasks of the Organization is to support the development of commercial and financial cooperation.

Also, representatives of the business community paid special attention to the issues of interaction between businessmen of the ECO member states, access to entering new markets, the exchange of advanced experience and high technologies.

Attraction of external investments

Within the framework of the session “Cooperation in the field of trade and services, customs services and taxation, digital trade and commerce in the ECO region”, the issues of creating favorable conditions for sustainable growth of economies, the use of market mechanisms that provide the necessary level for their diversification, as well as large-scale attraction of external investments of the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation.

One of the topics was the digitalization of trade, which today largely determines the change in the nature and behavior of the modern consumer. All this is due to a change in the environment – the rapid development of technologies, the emergence of digital ecosystems and innovative business models.

Multilateral partnership

At the end of the business forum, the participants spoke in favor of continuing the practice of such events and expressed confidence that constructive cooperation between the ECO member states will continue to develop successfully, defining new areas of multilateral partnership for the long term.

Within the framework of the forum in a mixed format, bilateral meetings were organized, during which further practical steps were outlined with the aim of building up business contacts in the fuel and energy complex, chemical industry, agriculture, food and textile industries, trade and other spheres.

Memorandum of Understanding

Following the business meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the railway administrations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the implementation of the KTI freight railway corridor (Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran). In addition, bilateral documents were signed between the relevant structures of the oil and gas complex of Turkmenistan and representatives of companies of the ECO member states for a total amount of over 11 million US dollars, as well as with members of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan on export-import operations for a total amount of over 35 million US dollars.

ECO: Intergovernmental Regional Organization

The main goal of the ECO as an intergovernmental regional organization is the sustainable economic development of the member states and the region as a whole. As set out in the ECO 2025 Outlook, ECO will pave the way for an area of integrated and stable economic systems and a free trade zone.

Over the past decades, ECO member countries have worked together to accelerate the pace of regional development through common efforts. They were able to leverage existing connections to further strengthen their resolve to turn their hopes into tangible reality.