TEHRAN – The 5th meeting of the board of trustees and the 7th meeting of the executive committee of the science foundation (ECOSF) of the Economic Cooperation Organization was held in the city of Isfahan on Tuesday.

During the 2-day event, the board of trustees will discuss and exchange opinions in order to make policies and plan the scientific activities of the foundation at the regional level for the next three years.

The Basic Charter of ECO was formed under the Treaty of Izmir as a result of the meeting of the member countries held in Izmir, Turkey on 12th March 1977.

It envisaged the establishment of the ECO Science Foundation as a specialized agency of the ECO to function as a reservoir of highly skilled scientific and technical manpower and to facilitate the promotion of scientific research among the Member States.

The ECO Council of Ministers (COM) at its 3rd meeting held on 6-7 February 1993 at Quetta, Pakistan called for establishing such an institution by 1995. The Charter of the Foundation was signed by all the 10 Member States at the 3rd ECO Summit in 1995 in Islamabad, however, so far only Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have ratified it. Other Member States, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan have to rectify the Charter.

Evaluation of the existing training facilities in the region and formulation of training programs for building up highly skilled scientific and technical manpower, designing programs to strengthen the scientific, engineering, and research and development institutions, and surveying of problem areas faced by the member countries in technology are among the main functions of the organization.

Promotion of goal-oriented research projects, including joint research programs, thematic calls and specific actions related to priority areas of concern to the Member States, promotion of scientific projects of economic or commercial value contributing to the development plans or projects of the Member States or any individual researcher from any Member State are also some other goals.

Exchange of Science and Technology information through designated centers and Institutions working as a network, strengthening of scientific cooperation through institutional linkages, exchange of scientists, and holding of collaborative seminars and conferences on major science and technology issues in the Member States, are also on the agenda.

Other functions of ECOSF include the promotion of improved methods in the teaching of science, the publication of a quarterly scientific bulletin which will contain the research papers and articles of the scholars of the member countries in the fields of natural and fundamental, social, human, medical and applied sciences and technology, holding science and technology fairs and exhibitions in collaboration with the Member States.

Granting awards and prizes to eminent scientists in the field of science and technology in the ECO region, identifying elite science and technology organizations as focal points in the ECO Member States, strengthening the scientific and technological libraries in the Member States, boosting collaboration with concerned ECO and national institutions for strengthening and harmonizing regional patents and intellectual property rights regimes and safeguarding the innovations are the other goals of the organization.

MG