4th ECO TPO forum meeting held
KARACHI: The 4th Economic Cooperation Organization, Trade Promotion Organization's forum was held at Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Head Office, Karachi, today 6th of May,2025. Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan & Türkiye heads of the of trade promotion organizations / nominees participated.
The meeting was chaired by Faiz Ahmad Chadhar, Chief Executive, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. The meeting started with welcome note by Zahid Abbasi from Economic Cooperation Organization Secretariat. Zahid Abbasi welcomed all the delegates and highlighted the business opportunities that exist in the countries.
Faiz Ahmad highlighted the role of ECO. He highlighted that Trade and Commerce is one of the potent instruments for economic development and poverty alleviation. He highlighted the role of the bloc and felt happy that ECO is working on the formulation of ECO Vision 2026-2035.
The ECO Member presented their country statement on the role and the future road map on the importance of TPO in promotion of trade of the region.
ECO Trade and Development Bank role was also discussed and the need for stronger regional integration through ECO-TDB was emphasized.
The ECO Trade Agreement was discussed it was decided the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan will make ECO Pavilion in its flagship event i.e. Food-AG which is scheduled to be held in October 2025.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
MD SEF urges partners to boost implementation, equity in education
HYDERABAD: In line with the visionary leadership of the Chief Minister Sindh, Chief Secretary Sindh, and Minister for Education Sindh, the Sindh Education Foundation the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) Government of Sindh organized a Regional Partners' Conference at Jamshoro, bringing together more than 250 school partners from Hyderabad Region. The event aimed to strengthen collaboration and align educational efforts with the evolving needs of students in underserved regions. The conference was presided over by Managing Director SEF, Gahanwer Ali Laghari, who reiterated SEF's commitment to ensuring both access to education and its quality. In his keynote address, the Managing Director, Gahanwer Ali Laghari emphasized the importance of engaging with all partners from the Hyderabad region who are operating SEF's formal and non-formal educational institutions. He praised their unwavering commitment to providing free and quality education, recognizing it as a commendable effort. And also thanked to VC LUMHS and their management for their support. He stated that this noble cause not only grants children in Sindh access to education but also contributes to broader avenues of sustainable development, aligning with global objectives. Acknowledging that there is always room for improvement, he urged all partners to fully implement the commitments made with the Government of Sindh and SEF. 'You must create an environment where children are happy to come to school,' he stressed. When partners requested to Managing Director to please bring the matter of subsidy to classify the per-child subsidy based on the geographical challenges of the schools. 'There should be a clear distinction between subsidies for schools operating in remote, hard-to-reach areas such as the deserts of Tharparkar, Johi, or Kachho, and those operating in urban areas,' and Managing Director assured them that he will bring this proposal to the concerned. The conference concluded with a strong message of transformational partnership, aiming to move beyond conventional education and prepare students for a future shaped by technology, innovation, and values. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
PARTLY FACETIOUS: There is a need for structural changes in taxation system
'Chairman FBR urged the Senate body to abolish the Seventh Schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance…' 'Which incidentally dates back to 2001.' 'Hey, that ordinance has been amended from time to time and like other countries remains largely valid…' 'Excuse me, but there is a need for structural change in our taxes – our reliance on withholding taxes that are levied in the sales tax mode, which you must know is an indirect tax whose incidence on the poor is greater than on the rich, but credited dishonestly by the FBR under direct tax collections…' 'They are kinda easy to collect – you appoint withholding agents from the private sector, increase their work load don't pay them a penny, and they collect it…' 'Look at the glass as half full: you collect more while you don't burden your staff and…' 'The private sector is reeling, let me cite the Finance Division's data on large scale manufacturing sector: negative 1.4 percent in the outgoing year, negative under 0.5 percent last year and this negativity…' 'The glass is half full, my friend.' 'Right besides the Chairman has claimed that enforcement measures have generated a close to 380 billion rupees and…' 'But the successful enforcements he mentioned were from indirect taxes, excise duty on….on was it sugar or cigarettes? And that tax is passed onto the consumers anyway, so…' 'Anyway one question, if the seventh schedule is abolished would the banks be as amenable to lending around 1.2 trillion rupees to the poorly performing power sector - money borrowed to retire the circular debt?' 'If you recall, the head of our premier intelligence agency did, how can I put it, convince the Independent Power Producers to agree to the renegotiations and….' 'I am aware of that, my question is if the banks do not get special treatment then would they agree to lending to a sector where they are over exposed and…' 'I am not sure, but why doesn't the Chairman consider generating revenue from some other source. India for example, generates huge amounts from its stock market activities…' 'Hey, our stock markets are used as a yardstick to assess government performance.' 'But the bulk of our population, the poor, the lower middle and middle income earners do not invest in the stock market…' 'Shut up silly. You don't know the macro picture.' 'I stand corrected.' Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Steel sector concerned at massive tariff rationalisation
ISLAMABAD: The documented steel sector Friday expressed serious concern over massive tariff rationalization in budget (2025-26) which would result in total closure of the domestic steel industry. Addressing a press conference on Friday, Abbas Akberali Patron in Chief, Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers and Chairman Amreli Steels; Javed Iqbal Malik Chairman PLASP / CEO Karachi Steels, Ilyas Aziz Malik V. Chairman PALSP / Chairman Fazal Steels shared their views on Finance Bill (2025-26). They said after passing through the most difficult period of history, a few measures taken by the Govt recently have provided little bit relief to the steel industry. It includes reduction in cost of electricity, and reduction in interest rates. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
