Tehran – June 21, 2026
ECO Secretary General Dr. Asad M. Khan received Ms. Christine Weigand, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Iran, at the ECO Secretariat. The meeting reviewed the existing cooperation, as well as possible areas of future cooperation between ECO and the UN agencies.
Congratulating Ms. Weigand for her appointment as the Resident Coordinator, Dr. Khan briefed her ECO’s activities during the past months and for the rest of 2026. He particularly noted that ECO was able to convene two Ministerial Meetings (Tourism in Azerbaijan and Environment in Uzbekistan) despite logistical challenges in the region. He further provided an overview of ECO’s initiatives in trade, disaster risk reduction, health and water, while also noting that ECO is looking forward to have its 18th Summit of Heads of State/Government in Iran and 30th Council of Ministers Meetings in Pakistan, later this year.
Referring to the longstanding institutional relationship between ECO and the UN and its agencies, as well as the essential role that the Resident Coordinator Office can play in this respect, both sides stressed the importance of further strengthening ties between ECO and the UN agencies, especially in the areas of common priorities such as environment, disaster risk reduction, health, and Sustainable Development Goals. They further agreed to hold regular meetings between the two organizations for efficiently following up the status of cooperation.
