Iran and China Seek Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation to Tackle Dust Phenomenon
.Wednesday13September2023
.News Code: 31320d3
In a recent meeting between Ali Mohammad Tahmasebi, Secretary of Iran's National Dust Management headquarters, and Sun Guoji, Director General of the Department of Combating Desertification of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration...
In a recent meeting between Ali Mohammad Tahmasebi, Secretary of Iran's National Dust Management headquarters, and Sun Guoji, Director General of the Department of Combating Desertification of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the emphasis was placed on bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat the issue of dust.
During the meeting, Tahmasebi expressed appreciation for China's participation and highlighted the longstanding efforts of both Iran and China in stabilizing dust centers. He drew parallels with China's collaborations with Mongolia, South Korea, and Japan, and revealed Iran's aim to form a regional coalition in West Asia to jointly combat the dust problem.
Tahmasebi also underlined the significance of the recently concluded 25-year cooperation agreement between Iran and China, expressing interest in joint action in the environmental, dust control, and economic sectors. Furthermore, he mentioned ongoing efforts to collaborate with Iraq in addressing dust issues and stressed the potential for Iran and China to work together and share experiences to control dust in Middle Eastern countries.
Moreover, Tahmasebi unveiled Iran's ambition to establish a regional center and fund dedicated to combating dust in West Asia, with an invitation for Arab countries to participate. He noted China's similar measures with the United Arab Emirates, expressing Iran's desire for cooperation with China in this regard.
Highlighting the organizational divide within Iran, Tahmasebi explained that although the country has a national headquarters for dust control, it also maintains a specialized office for desertification under the Ministry of Agricultural Jihad. He expressed hope that the meeting would yield operational measures to effectively tackle the issue in West Asian and Central Asian countries.
Tahmasebi further shared Iran's plans to propose a UN convention exclusively focusing on dust control, alongside the existing convention on desertification. He called for China's support in gaining approval for an independent international dust control convention.
Sun Guoji, Director General of the Department of Combating Desertification of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, praised China's historical involvement in combatting desertification and their recent national program targeting dust centers. Guoji highlighted China's collaboration with Russia and East Asian countries to address dust challenges, as well as their joint research and cooperation with Arab nations to stabilize soil in affected areas.
Acknowledging the significance of joint cooperation in combating natural phenomena like dust, Guoji commended Iran's initiative in hosting the international meeting against dust. He expressed China's readiness to expand knowledge sharing and experience transfer with Iran to further aid in dust control efforts.
As Iran and China join forces to address the shared concern over dust, it is hoped that strengthened bilateral and multilateral cooperation will pave the way for effective, long-term solutions to this pressing environmental issue.