Iranian, Iraqi presidents due in Istanbul for ECO summit

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are expected to arrive separately in Istanbul this week to attend the 11th Heads of State and Government Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) set for Thursday. The ECO, founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, is an intergovernmental regional organization providing a platform to promote economic, technical and cultural cooperation among member states. Before the summit, on Wednesday foreign ministers of ECO member countries will hold a Council of Ministers Meeting. The council is working to restructure the organization in line with member states' expectations.