Tehran – August 29, 2024
ECO Secretary General Dr. Asad M. Khan held a bilateral meeting with Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Iran.
During the meeting, the Ambassador Khan provided an overview of ECO’s health initiatives, particularly the ECO Action Plan on Health highlighting the significance of the upcoming 6th ECO Ministerial Meeting on Health in Tehran as a key platform for regional health cooperation. He emphasized health as a critical priority for ECO and underscored the need for enhanced collaboration with international organizations, particularly WHO and its regional offices—EMRO and EURO. The ECO Secretary General proposed that a Memorandum of Understanding between ECO and WHO could facilitate deeper cooperation.
Dr. Hussain conveyed the strong interest of both EMRO and EURO in collaborating with ECO and confirmed their commitment to participating in its upcoming ministerial meeting. He also extended a formal invitation to Secretary General Khan to attend the seventy-first session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean in Doha, suggesting a sideline meeting with the heads of EMRO and EURO, as well as the WHO Director-General, to explore further areas of cooperation.
Both sides acknowledged the essential role of health in achieving sustainable development goals and agreed to maintain close communication to explore potential avenues for coordinated action on regional health issues.
