TEHRAN – The 39th Executive Committee Meeting of the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME) has approved three initiatives proposed by Iran.

ROPME held an online meeting on Thursday, chaired by Bahrain, with the participation of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, doe.ir reported.

Iran’s three proposals included holding joint maritime research patrols with the participation of Iran and adopting similar initiatives by other member states, dispatching experts from member states to the ROPME secretariat to promote technical capacities and support for the implementation of approved projects, and establishing a regional center in Iran to train experts in the marine environment and coastal wetlands.

During the meeting, several other issues, including the organization’s strategic direction for 2026 to 2030, were discussed, and financial reports for 2021 to 2024 were reviewed.

Iran also presented an atlas of the country’s wetlands, which has been recently developed by the Department of Environment, to the ROPME Executive Committee.

At the 38th meeting of the ROPME executive committee, Iran proposed incorporating a plan to combat sand and dust storms (SDSs) into the Organization’s strategic plan.

The meeting was held on February 13 in Kuwait. Ahmad-Reza Lahijanzadeh, an official with the Department of Environment (DOE), represented the country in this year’s meeting.

During the meeting, participants discussed the strategic plan focusing on three main axes: Persian Gulf pollution, climate change, and the preservation of biodiversity. They also agreed to follow up on Iran’s offer in expert meetings, ISNA reported.

Even if SDS is not approved as the fourth axis of the strategic plan, it will be added to the climate change issue, Lahijanzadeh noted.

It was also decided to follow up on designing a strategic plan through holding consistent virtual meetings, Lahijanzadeh added.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Iranian and Kuwaiti officials discussed joint marine issues.

MT/MG