On the invitation of the UNESCAP, the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization, H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour participated in the Third Asia-Pacific Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation. The event jointly organized by ESCAP, UNOSSC, Government of Indonesia as well as the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) was held on November 25, 2020 under the theme of “The Role of South-South Cooperation in Building Back from COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia and the Pacific.
Addressing the Forum, Dr. Soleimanpour underlined some of the ECO’s post-COVID experience and practices, conveying the immediate measures taken to counter the negative impacts of the ongoing pandemic on the region, including the initiative for establishing an all-inclusive consultative mechanism for regional health sector. Considering the adverse effects of the pandemic on transport sector, the ECO Secretariat developed some guidelines on cross border facilitation measures for the maintenance of essential supply chains to support the region’s livelihood, the ECO Secretary General conveyed. He further highlighted the strong and active cooperation between the ECO Secretariat, Member States and relevant international institutions to meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable and affected countries in the region.
While acknowledging the importance of the role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in the post-COVID scenario, Dr. Soleimanpour noted that the South-South and Triangular Cooperation could be instrumental to bring a degree of relief to the most affected developing nations. He stressed that any medicines or medical discoveries needed to be shared widely, ensuring their availability to all, preferably to most vulnerable countries.
Forum’s participants, inter alia, discussed and explored the ways and means to meet the negative consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, including the significance and role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in this regard.
