Honorable Chair,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is indeed a privilege to address such an august gathering as the new President of the ECO Cultural Institute. In this new role, I have had the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogues with various stakeholders including the ECO Secretary General, the two sister specialized agencies, namely, the Presidents of the ECO Science Foundation and the ECO Educational Institute, as well as the heads of diplomatic missions of the ECO member states. I also held discussions with various personalities and institutions related to culture. My assessment is that there is a broad understanding on the need for greater cultural collaboration and future joint activities, as the building blocks for other forms of cooperation such as political, economic and diplomatic within the ECO region.

However, the ECO Cultural Institute, which turns sixty in 2026, may need reforms to achieve its objectives. In the 41^st meeting of the ECI-CPR the Islamic Republic of Pakistan proposed to club the reform process in ECI with that of the ECO. Be that as it may, there is some food for thought, that I would leave for the consideration of the esteemed member states. First of all, ECI is similar to a regional UNESCO. The word “institute” in its name could be misleading and, as part of reforms, the member states may consider renaming that word with “Organization” or “Association”.

Secondly, ECI needs to expand its membership to overcome financial troubles. Existing member states will be requested to use their diplomatic influence in convincing the brotherly states of ECO  that are still outside the ECI to join as full members. In this respect, we would like to count of the leadership role of the current chair, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in supporting the expansion.

Thirdly, the ECI needs to have greater visibility and outreach in all the member states. Due to financial constraints, it may not be feasible to fund dedicated branches as mandated in the ECI Charter. Instead, an MoU can be signed with an ECO organ or a national cultural center to act as a coordination unit in the concerned state.

Fourthly, given the importance of financial resources to achieve the objectives for which ECI had been created, I would earnestly request the member states to pay this year’s dues during the first quarter of 2024. Major part of ECI financial difficulties is due to piling up of arrears close to two million US dollars. The esteemed member states are requested to hold consultations on a agreeable formulas about phased payment of piled up arrears.

And finally, with the accession of Turkiye as a full member, which is one of the three largest contributors to both the ECO and ECI budgets, coupled with efforts for settlement of arrears, the ECI’s financial cushion is likely to be stronger in future. Given the cost-of-living inflation between 340 to 600% in the city of Tehran according to different estimates, the real income of ECI staff has decreased proportionately. It is high time to pass on part of this cushion in our budgetary position as a pay raise to the ECI Staff for which a consolidated proposal is being prepared for the Board of Trustees. There the support of all esteemed member states is of critical significance.

Excellencies,

The President of ECI is required to be an expert in arts and culture as per the eligibility requirements enshrined in the Charter of the Institute. The current president is an expert in military music and has proposed an annual ECO military bands festival in the Fall of each year in a different member state. As desired by the Chair, Islamic Republic of Iran, a Concept Note is to being formulated for consideration by the Chair and all esteemed member states.

Distinguished delegates,

ECI recently announced ECO Youth Award for outstanding youngsters between 18 to 30 years old. Unfortunately, except for Afghanistan, we only received one valid entry from the whole ECO region. The revised call for entries will be out in the coming weeks and we request all member states to give it wide publicity in their home countries to gain maximum participation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before concluding my speech, I am pleased to inform you that during my few weeks of Presidency, I have held over fifty meetings with diplomatic and cultural personalities and institutions from ECO member states including Saadi Foundation of Iran, National Arts Gallery of Pakistan, Yunus Emre Institute of Turkiye, Hayder Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan, and many others, as mentioned in the Activity Report which was provided to ECO Secretariat in PDF form to be circulated amongst the distinguished delegates of the 34^th RPC. The outcome of these meetings will take time to be realized but suffice is to hope at this stage, that greater opportunities for promotion of cultural heritage and strengthening of collaboration will come out of these diplomatic endeavors.

The Institute has been organizing various events despite limited resources., including an exhibition of historical photos of Türkiye, one on ECO activities’ photographs, another of paintings and calligraphies of Afghan artists, and a celebration of World Book Day. The Institute has also organized musical evenings on Yaldaa Night, on the Gregorian New Year (i.e. 1^st January) and has held poetry recitations from distinguished poets in multiple languages in the recent weeks. At the moment, a week-long arts and sculpture exhibition on the theme of “No to War” is taking place at the ECI arts gallery where art pieces of nine leading Iranian artists are on display.

Dear Colleagues,

The esteemed member states are kindly requested to provide their proposed programs and activities to be jointly organized with the ECI 2024. We have only received proposals from the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Tajikistan. The other member states may kindly convey their proposals to this Institute at the earliest to enable us to further enrich our calendar of events for the year ahead that has already been circulated to all the delegates and your valuable approval is solicited.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In closing, I take this opportunity to thank the Republic of Tajikistan for its successful Presidency of the ECI through my predecessors HE Muradjan Buribaev and Sarwar Bakhti, and welcome the decision of the Republic of Turkiye for ratifying the ECI Charter and timely payment of contribution. Let us hold a positive outlook for the ECO Cultural Institute’s future. Your backing can help us realize our vision of fostering increased cultural cooperation and collective endeavors within our region. Thank you