On November 27, 2025, the official delegation of the Republic of Tajikistan, led by Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Nasriddinzoda Rukhshona Hikmatullo, participated and addressed the 5th Meeting of the Ministers of Commerce and Foreign Trade of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Istanbul, Turkey.
At the beginning of the meeting, Nasriddinzoda Rukhshona Hikmatullo noted that thanks to the wise, far-sighted, and creative policies of the Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, Tajikistan is making steady progress in developing economic and trade ties with other countries, including ECO member states. The Deputy Minister also emphasized that holding such a high-level event after a nearly 15-year hiatus in the organization's activities demonstrates that member countries are entering a new phase of improving regional economic integration and mechanisms for sustainable regional development.
The meeting was attended by trade ministers, deputy ministers, and heads of delegations from 10 ECO member countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Also attending were representatives of observer countries such as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Organization of Turkic-Speaking States (OTS), and relevant ECO institutions, including the ECO Trade Development Bank (ECO-TDB), the ECO Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECO-CCI), the ECO Seed Association (ECOSA), the United Nations Industrial Development Office (UNIDO), the International Road Union (IRU), and other international partners.
The official opening ceremony of the meeting began with speeches by Turkish Trade Minister Professor Ömer Bolat and ECO Secretary-General Asad Majid Khan. Their speeches emphasized the importance of the meeting as a key step in restoring and expanding trade processes, as well as the need to improve the mechanism of regional trade documents.
During her speech, Nasriddinzoda R. Kh. presented a detailed analysis of the current state of the national economy and the country's prospects for trade cooperation. It was noted that Tajikistan's economy has demonstrated steady growth in recent years, with real GDP growth reaching 8% in the first nine months of 2025. Inflation remained at 2-3%, and industrial production increased significantly. Furthermore, total foreign trade for the first 10 months of this year amounted to approximately USD 9 billion, demonstrating the stable growth of the country's economic and trade activities.
It was further emphasized that ECO member countries are Tajikistan's main trading partners. Thus, in 2024 alone, Tajikistan's trade volume with ECO countries reached $3 billion, and $2.5 billion in the first 10 months of 2025. The share of ECO countries in Tajikistan's foreign trade in recent years has ranged from 33% to 38%, clearly demonstrating the importance of these countries in Tajikistan's trade policy.
During the meeting, a number of documents and issues were discussed, including the Strategy and Roadmap for Negotiations on the ECO Preferential Trade Agreement (ECOTA), the establishment of the ECOTA Negotiating Committee, the Strategy for Multilateral Trade and Investment of ECO Member States, the Cooperation Program for Special Trade and Free Economic Zones of ECO Member States, and the activation of the ECOTA Implementation Fund.
Following the meeting, two important cooperation documents were reviewed and approved: the "ECO Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters" and the "Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Activities to Facilitate ECO Trade."
