ISTANBUL - Istanbul Forum for Economic Cooperation between Afghanistan, Turkey and Pakistan had its second meeting yesterday in Istanbul. The meeting was attended by business representatives from the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Afghanistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).

The first meeting took place on October 26, 2007 in Istanbul. The second meeting was supposed to take place in Islamabad. Due to the recent political developments in Pakistan caused out of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination and taking into account that the General Assembly meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization, of which all three countries are members, also took place in Istanbul yesterday, the second meeting was moved to Istanbul.

In the first meeting, topics such as the rationale behind the foundation of the Forum and the formation of the steering and the technical committees were discussed. In the second meeting, discussions mostly focused on the needs assessment and the potential concrete trilateral projects.

Potential areas of cooperation were listed under eleven headings consisting of trade facilitation, border management/modernization, transport/logistics, business development centers, organized industrial zones, education, health, agro-business, SME development, construction and capacity building. Istanbul Forum decided to focus on three priority areas: business development with micro-finance focus, organized industrial zone with agro-business focus and capacity building programs for the chambers. Pre-feasibility reports for these projects will be completed by April 2008 after consultations with all the stakeholders. The next meeting was decided to take place in Islamabad by early April 2008.