About ECO

Economic Cooperation Organization Educational Institute (ECOEI) is an intergovernmental, autonomous, specialized agency of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) working to contribute to the development of Member States through education. It aims to encourage educational cooperation among its member countries and to strengthen academic and educational activities in Member States.

The founding decision of ECOEI was made in 1998, when its charter was signed by eight ECO member states during the 8th Meeting of the ECO Council of Ministers which was held in Almaty on 9 May 1998. ECOEI headquarters is in Ankara, Republic of Turkey. 

Active since 2017, the ECO Educational Institute (ECOEI) organizes educational and training activities, promoting exchange of ideas, publications and other materials of information to enhance collaboration between teachers, students, experts, scholars and policy makers among ECO Members. It holds regular meetings, symposia, education and seminars related to every level of education, develop policy proposals and publish academic research studies.

ECO Educational Institute is directly governed by a Board of Trustees that is composed of Education Ministers of Member States. In other words, its activities, programs and administrative structure is decided by a group of decision-makers who have the utmost executive control in matters related to education in each Member State. Therefore, ECO Educational Institute is the most efficient and direct mechanism to cooperate with education policy-makers in other ECO Member States.

Compared to other educational organizations, the Institute’s governing structure allows for better representation of each Member State, providing an equal say over matters of importance. The Institute’s closely knit structure allows for a more direct involvement by Member States in Institute’s affairs and activities. Its region-specific focus makes it uniquely adaptable to addressing the Member States’ challenges in a more direct manner. As such, it is in a unique position to assist strengthening the know-how, intercultural competence and workforce in education by building a bridge between its members.

ECO Educational Institute has the widest outreach among other ECO specialized agencies with 7 ratifying ECO members and 8 signatories (Republic of Kazakhstan’s ratification of the ECOEI Charter is pending). The Institute announces its projects and programs to all ECO Member States and welcomes participation from ECO Members who have not yet joined ECOEI, namely Republic of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, as well. The Institute’s activities intend to reach more than 100 million students across the region, in a relatively cost-efficient manner.

The Institute is located in Ankara, Turkey which has a modern, internationally reputable, historically rooted, interculturally competent education system as well as connections to other global and regional organizations in education.

ECOEI’s current members are

• Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

• Republic of Azerbaijan

• Islamic Republic of Iran

• Kyrgyz Republic

• Islamic Republic of Pakistan

• Republic of Tajikistan

• Republic of Türkiye