The 11th Governing Board’s Meeting (GBM) of Regional Centre on Urban Water Management (RCUWM) was held virtually on September 23, 2020, under the auspices of UNESCO. The Meeting discussed ways and means of promoting and expanding mutual and multi-lateral cooperation among RCUWM Member States and Organizations, as well as progress on the implementation of proposals approved during the GBM 2019.
H.E. Mr. Reza Ardakanian, Minister of Energy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Chairperson of RCUWM’s Governing Board inaugurated the meeting. While welcoming the participants, he recalled that this meeting was initially scheduled to be held in June at Dushanbe, adding that the event is now being held virtually due to the post-COVID-19 scenario. Underlining the history of the RCUWM, he highlighted that the Center had entered today the third phase of its activities (2019 ,“ 2024), having the delegates of 18 Member States as well as representatives of several Regional and International Organizations. He also noted that the Center, being benefited from GB Member States, enjoyed with them a cooperative relationship.
In his statement, the ECO Deputy Secretary General, Dr. Sayed Yahya Akhlaqi conveyed that the ECO was committed to the Sustainable Development Goal “Clean Water and Sanitation”, the accomplishment of which might lead to a greater food security, better harnessing of our energy resources, diversified transportation means and above all, the peace and security. Alongside access to water sanitation and hygiene, serving to growth and fulfilling current human aspirations, the SDGs recognize the critical importance of water resources in public’s common interests that must be protected and restored, he articulated. The ECO’s two flagship energy projects, namely the Establishment of ECO Clean Energy Centre and the Establishment of ECO Regional Electricity Market will strongly focus on energy-water nexus given the fact that hydropower is the most widely employed renewable and clean energy source on a commercial scale in the ECO Region and can store electricity from diverse renewable resources, Dr. Akhlaqi pointed out.
The Meeting, inter alia, deliberated on the proposals of RCUWM, seeking therein the members’ potential involvement. The project proposals were fully described and discussed during the meeting. The Members of the Governing Board were invited to submit new proposals with respect to RCUWM Scope of Activities as described in Center’s Rules of Procedure. The RCUWM thanked and appreciated the ECO Secretariat for their active and effective participation in the GBM-2020.
