ECO Cultural Institute

ECO Cultural Institute is rated 3 out of 5 in the category international affairs. Read and write reviews about ECO Cultural Institute. Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey for the purpose of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the Member States. ECO is the successor organization of Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD) which remained in existence since 1964 up to 1979. In 1992, the Organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. Following RCD's transformation into ECO , and its later enlargement and growth to ten Member States, it has since assumed a special role as a viable regional organization, bringing together the ten states of the region, with common culture and shared history located in one of the most strategic areas of the globe. It was against these backgrounds that the need for the revival of the former Cultural RCD was felt following the expansion of ECO from a trilateral entity (Iran, Pakistan, Turkey) into a major regional organization. Revival of the Cultural Institute was visualized in Article II of the Treaty of Izmir, with the objective; "​ To consolidate cultural affinities and spiritual and fraternal ties that bind the people of the Member States through social and cultural channels of thought and action"​. The formal endorsement of the revival of the Cultural Institute under its present name was finally manifested through the signing of its Charter at the Third ECO Summit Meeting held at Islamabad on 14-15 March 1995 and Tehran was selected as its Headquarters.