The 3rd Meeting of the ECO Heads of Meteorological Services hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO) was held at ECO Secretariat Tehran, on 12 November, 2019. The Meeting was attended by the delegations from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran (Host), the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Turkey as well as the representatives of ECO Secretariat. ECO-RCRM also attended the meeting as a guest.

The 3rd Meeting of the ECO Heads of Meteorological Services hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO) was held at ECO Secretariat Tehran, on 12 November, 2019. The Meeting was attended by the delegations from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran (Host), the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Turkey as well as the representatives of ECO Secretariat. ECO-RCRM also attended the meeting as a guest.

H.E. Dr. Hadi Soleimanpour, the Secretary General of the ECO has warmly welcomed the distinguished delegates of the Member States at ECO Secretariat and expressed his wishes for successful meeting.

Dr. Sayed Yahya Akhlaqi, Deputy Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) has inaugurated the meeting. In his opening remarks he warmly welcomed the distinguished visiting delegates and expressed his appreciations to the host authorities for their support to convene this meeting. He also highlighted the importance of water conservation, drought monitoring system and effective utilization of yield management.

Dr. Sahar Tajbakhsh, the President of Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO) and Vice Minister of Road and Urban Development unanimously elected the chairperson of the meeting and at the outset while she welcoming the distinguished delegates in Tehran highlighted the achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization during the last few years. She suggested that ECO Member States may apply the knowledge and experience gained by other countries regarding weather-related disaster management, because natural disaster knows no geographical boundaries.

The Heads of delegations of the participating member states have delivered their statements and presentation over Meteorological policies, policy on climate change resilience, activities, drought monitoring and seasonal forecast in their respective countries whereas ECO-RCRM delivered a comprehensive report regarding activities of the Centre.

Beside other decisions and recommendations for enhancing the cooperation among the ECO Member States in the area of natural disasters management and objectives related to ECO Vision 2025, the meeting approved the statute of the ECO-RCRM. The meeting also welcomed the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's offer for hosting the next ECO Heads of Meteorological Services Meeting in August 2020.