Iran, UN Discuss Asia-Pacific Issues
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and UN Under-Secretary General Shamshad Akhtar discussed ways to ensure prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region by promoting cooperation and using regional capacities.
In a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, the Iranian foreign minister and Akhtar, who is also the executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), stressed the need for closer economic and trade cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
They also called for efforts to use regional capacities and emerging powers to expand cooperation in the economic and infrastructure sectors.
Zarif and Akhtar further expressed concern over the weakening of multilateralism, decline of international and regional institutions and arrangements, and rise of serious challenges in this regard, according to the Foreign Ministry’s website.
Moreover, they stressed the need for initiatives by the United Nations, particularly the ESCAP, to manage and prevent such challenges in Asia.
The two sides also talked about the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the ESCAP in order to realize its development goals and also the country’s cooperation to launch an office of the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM) in Tehran as a subsidiary of the ESCAP.
The development and implementation of the ESCAP’s plan to contain sandstorms in the Asia-Pacific region, including West Asia, within the framework of environmental protection and disaster management were also discussed in the meeting.
