TEHRAN – Iran will host the 28th meeting of the foreign ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

The meeting, scheduled for next week, will bring together ministers and high-ranking officials from the organization's ten member states under Iran's 2024 presidency. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will chair the summit, which will include participation from ECO's specialized departments and representatives of various multilateral economic bodies, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baqaei announced on Sunday. 

The ECO, founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, has evolved into a prominent regional bloc spanning Central and South Asia. 

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the organization underwent significant expansion in 1992, welcoming seven new members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. 

Headquartered in Tehran, the ECO functions as a platform to foster economic, technical, and cultural cooperation in a region that links West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, encompassing a market of over 500 million people.