Talabani arrives in Istanbul to take part in ECO summit

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday to attend the Economic Cooperation Organization summit, a media source said.”Talabani will attend the 11th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Cooperation Organization in Istanbul on December 23,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency.During the summit, Turkey will take over rotating presidency of the organization.Established in 1985 by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization aiming at promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. In 1992, the organization was expanded to include seven new members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.Turkey hosted the summit of heads of state and government of ECO-member states in 1993 and 2002.SH (P)/SR 30