Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) held its 13th summit in Islamabad on Feb 28, 2017, where along with Pakistani Prime Minister eight heads of states/governments participated in it. Neither the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani nor the Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in this conference and instead the Afghan Ambassador in Pakistan and the Afghan Presidents special representative Omar Zakhilwal represented Afghanistan in this conference.
The conference is kicked off at a time when tensions in Pak-Afghan relations have risen after the explosion in Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in the Southern Sindh province, Pakistan. The incident has also resulted in closure of border crossings between the two countries.
The background of ECO, the recent conference’s impacts on regional integration and the current relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are issues that are analyzed here.
The Background of ECO
Economic Cooperation Organization was established in 1985 by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan generally for the purpose of promoting economic technical and cultural cooperation between the member states.
Specifically the objectives of ECO are: sustainable economic development of member states, progressive removal of trade barriers, development of transport and communications infrastructures among the member states, economic liberalization and privatization, effective utilization of industrial and agricultural potential of ECO region, regional cooperation for drug abuse control and environmental protection and promotion of historical and cultural relations between the member states. [1]
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, new states were created in Central Asia and thus the member states of ECO rose from 3 to 10. The new member states were: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
Although Afghanistan gained ECO membership in 1992 but, until 2001, this country did not play an active role in this organization. It was only in the post-2001 that Afghanistan begin to play an active role in this organization and the organization has also funded some projects in Afghanistan[2].
ECO Conference and regional Integration?
The 13th ECO summit is kicked off in Islamabad after five years, while Pakistan was somehow presumed to be isolated in the region as, in late 2016, five out of eight members of SAARC refused to participate in the 18th summit of SAARC in Islamabad, which resulted in postponing the summit. For the same reason, when Azerbaijani President Elham Alive, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kyrgyzstani Prime Minister Sooronbay Jeenbekov and Tajikistani President Imam Ali Rahman came to Islamabad to participate in the ECO conference, they were presented 21 gun-salute on their arrival.
In recent ECO conference, as in previous conferences, the renewed promises for economic and trade developments were made and the summit also adopted the new ECO vision 2025. Due to projects like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) and “One Belt, One Road”, China was also invited as special guest. On the one hand, ECO members supported these major economic projects particularly CPEC and, on the other hand, China stressed on the significance of the role played by this organization in economic development of the world.
Although it became 32 years since the creation of ECO, but it had very few achievements. For instance, growth of trade between the ECO member states is one of the fundamental objectives of this organization, while there is a little amount of trade between the member states. If one studies trade statistics one will find out that from 2002 to 2012, the value of trade between the member states has increased 3.6%. In 2002, trade between the member states of ECO formed only 5.3% of their overall trade and in 2012 it rose to 8.9%, while estimations showed that until 2015, trade between the member countries would form the 20% of their overall trade.
On the other hand, political disagreements between Afghanistan and Pakistan, rivalry between Iran and Turkey, sanctions imposed on Iran due to its nuclear programs (which were lifted in 2015), lack of transport and transit infrastructures and other countries’ involvement in this region are other factors that have reduced cooperation and trade between the countries in the region.
The Pak-Afghan relations at the sidelines of ECO Conference
Afghanistan did not send any high-ranking senior officials in ECO Conference in Islamabad, which signifies suspicions and tensions in the relations between Kabul and Islamabad. In this month a blast hit Pakistan’s Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine, the responsibility for which, according to the media, was claimed by ISIL and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Pakistan undertook five actions in response to this explosion.
First, Pakistan closed border crossings with Afghanistan, which is still closed after two weeks;
Second, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan’s Military summoned Afghan diplomats.
Third, Pakistan submitted a list of 76 peoples’ name, whom they said is in Afghanistan and asked Kabul to hand them over;
Fourth, once again, Pakistan started firing rocket shells on Afghanistan and according to Afghan Media Pakistani helicopters have also crossed the border line.
Fifth, Pakistani army launched the “Operation Radd-ul-Fassad”.
New changes from the closure of border crossings to firing rocket shells on Afghanistan soil and Pashtuns being targeted in Punjab Province of Pakistan has increased hatred between the people of the two countries.
The ECO Conference was supposed to be an opportunity for repairing relations between the two countries, but, given the low level participation of the Afghan government in this conference, this opportunity was not provided neither did Pakistan, in such an economic conference which is aimed at regional economic and trading connectivity, announce the opening of borders. Even worse is that the spokesman for Pakistani military called Afghanistan to devise its Pakistan policies through “Afghan lens” and don’t see to Islamabad from “anti-Pakistani lens” (he was indicating the deteriorated economic and security situation of Afghanistan). Besides that, about reopening the border, he said that before reopening borders there were things that Afghanistan had to do. [3]
This situation in the bilateral relations is worth paying attention and it cannot be resolved by accusing one another and there is need for undertaking trust building measures especially acts such as reopening borders in order to improve relations between the two countries.
The end
[1] For further info see the link bellow:
http://www.ecosecretariat.org/in2.htm
[2] See the official website of the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
http://mfa.gov.af/en/page/6546/6565/6569
[3] For further info see the link bellow:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1317556