The 30th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) opened in Islamabad on Sunday, November 15, with one of the bloc's ten member states missing from the table: Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Kabul was not invited, and Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, chaired the two-day gathering in its place as host.
Source: The News
Pakistan's Foreign Office said the ministerial meeting, running on November 15 and 16, is being attended by the foreign ministers and heads of delegations of the ECO member states, together with representatives of the ECO Secretariat and its subsidiary bodies. A Meeting of Senior Officials (SOM) preceded the ministers' session to review the organisation's activities and programmes, assess its subsidiary bodies and finalise the agenda and draft outcome documents.
An empty chair for Afghanistan
Afghanistan is a founding-era member of the ECO, but its seat stayed empty. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson had said earlier that Islamabad had not invited the Taliban to the meeting in accordance with ECO procedures, Taneen TV reported, adding that Afghanistan's tricolour flag — the flag of the former republic, not the Taliban's white banner — was displayed on the official banners at the meeting.
Source: Taneen TV
Daily Imroz, reporting Dunya News, said ECO Secretary General Asad Majid Khan and the foreign ministers of member countries were to address the opening session after Dar. It reported Tajikistan's foreign minister among those attending, deputy foreign ministers from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Türkiye, and the foreign minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, who had arrived in Islamabad to take part. Pakistani media also reported Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi among the ministers attending.
Source: Daily Imroz / Dunya News
Trade, energy and corridors on the table
The meeting's agenda centres on promoting economic and trade relations among member countries, cooperation in the energy sector and improving transport infrastructure, with a joint strategy to connect landlocked Central Asia to global markets through regional corridors. The foreign ministers are also expected to call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is hosting a luncheon in their honour during the session.
Pakistan holds the ECO chairmanship for 2026 and 2027 under the theme “Reviving Regionalism for a Resilient ECO”, and the Foreign Office has said Islamabad will use the term to push regional connectivity, deepen economic integration and position Pakistan as a hub for trade and logistics in the region.
The empty Afghan chair hangs over that connectivity agenda. Regional reporting ahead of the meeting noted that the closure of the Pakistan–Afghanistan border and repeated militant attacks inside Pakistan have strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul: Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban authorities to stop the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan from using Afghan territory for attacks, while the absence of effective cross-border trade arrangements has limited the very integration the ECO exists to build.
The council concludes on Monday, November 16, when the ministers are expected to adopt the outcome documents prepared by their senior officials. Whether the bloc can move its trade, energy and transport plans forward without one member state in the room will be the test of Pakistan's chairmanship year.