Tehran – August 20, 2026
In the follow-up to the meeting of ECO Secretary General and UN Under-Secretary-General on 13th August 2026, a virtual meeting between technical teams from the ECO Secretariat (Transport and Communications Directirate) and the UN Office for Least Developed, Landlocked and Small Island Developing Countries (UN-OHRLLS) was held on 20th August and discussed ways and means to jointly assist the 7 landlocked ECO Member States, including through implementation of the Awaza Programme of Action (PoA).
Among a range of issues identified during the meeting, the both sides agreed to work closely on activities related to the priority 3 of the PoA (Transport and connectivity).
Joint activities including in the planning of “kick-off meeting on implementation of the Awaza Programme of Action in the ECO Region” on the sidelines of the 5th ESCAP Ministerial Meeting on Transport in November 2026 in Bangkok; participation of the ECO in the OHRLLS-IRU dialogue in the context of NEW Silk Way Forum in October 2026 in Astana; particpation and statement by the ECO Secretary General in the Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked Countires in September 2026 in New York; cooperation on the financing pilar of the Awaza PoA and engagement of OHRLLS in preparation and organisation of the International Financing Conference for ECO Transport Corridors and Projects in 2027; ECO assistance to advocacy programmes of the OHRLLS; and sharing ECO experiences with OHRLLS on the supporting policies of its transit Member States in favour of its landlocked Member States were among activities both sides considered for the short term cooperation.
They also discussed possibility of developing a Letter of Understanding for mid-term bilateral cooperation.
