Iranian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Reza Taqipour proposed the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states to start joint production of telecommunication satellites, semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday.

Addressing the first meeting of ECO states' communication and information technology ministers in Tehran on Sunday, Taqipour called for the start of "studies over the possible grounds for building and manufacturing telecommunication equipment and use of common know-how for designing and building joint telecommunication satellites to be sent to the orbits of the member states," according to the report.

He also asked the ECO members to cooperate and exchange information in software and hardware fields, provide various CIT services and to build infrastructures, and to help cooperation among mobile operators in various fields.

On Sunday, Iran's Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani stressed the importance of promoting closer cooperation among the ECO states, Press TV reported.

"Under the current circumstances when political and regional equations are changing rapidly, close cooperation among regional countries, including ECO member states, can be effective in maintaining the national interests of countries and their all-out development and progress," Larijani was quoted as saying.

The ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey with the aim of promoting economic, technical and cultural cooperation among the member states.

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan later joined the organization.

Source: Xinhua News Agency