The ECO Secretariat convened two virtual consultative meetings with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to discuss the upcoming Ministerial Meeting on Circular Economy to be held on the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 16 October 2024.
The meeting emphasized the significance of circular economy practices across various sectors, highlighting UNIDO’s activities to support initiatives in circular economy and resource efficiency, and its potential to engage in the Ministerial Meeting on Circular Economy and Regional Initiative on Resource Efficiency, Sustainability, and Circular Economy in the ECO Region (RESCUE).
UNIDO and the ECO Secretariat acknowledged COP29 as a crucial platform for dialogue and enhanced collaboration on climate action, expressing enthusiasm to collaborate for promoting circular economy initiatives in the region. This meeting concluded with a commitment to ramp up the coordination ahead of COP29 for such a purpose.
Additionally, a coordination meeting of the ad hoc committee on the establishment of the ECO Clean Energy Centre (CECECO) was held on October 16, 2024. The representatives of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, ECO Secretariat, and UNIDO participated in the online meeting. UNIDO provided updates on ongoing fundraising efforts and emphasized the importance of joint resource mobilization. Mr. Orkhan Zeynalov, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan shared his insights on a way forward for speeding up the operationalization of the Centre (ratification of the Charter, host country agreement, etc.). The meeting highlighted the need to expedite the ratification process and mobilization of funds for the earliest operationalization of CECECO.
