The First meeting of the Working Group on Environment

The First meeting of the Working Group on

Environment

PRESS RELEASE

The First meeting of the Working Group on Environment established for the Implementation of the Plan of Action for Cooperation among ECO Member States on Environment (2003-2007) was held on 7-8 April 2004 in Ankara.

It was held in accordance with the decision of the 13^th meeting of the Regional Planning Council that a working group was to be established to explore ways and means for implementation of the above mentioned Plan of Action and suggest any necessary modifications of its provisions.

Representatives of nine ECO Member States, namely the Transitional Islamic state of Afghanistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Turkey, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan attended the meeting.

The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Prof. Hasan Zuhuri Sarikaya, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey.

The meeting agreed on modifications to some provisions of the Plan of Action for Cooperation among ECO Member States on Environment (2003-2007) to make them more feasible and workable, which will be submitted for approval of the Second ECO Ministerial meeting on Environment to be held in Turkey in autumn 2004.

The participants also considered the ECO Secretariat's progress report on the activities which have already been carried out for the implementation of the Plan of Action and extensively discussed ways and means of implementing the Plan of Action, including those reflected by the Member States in their national progress reports submitted in 2003 as well as presented during the meeting session. The meeting agreed that the concerned authorities of the member states will communicate their further views and proposals on the process of the implementation of the Plan of Action for a period 2004-5 to the ECO Secretariat by June 1, 2004, which will be considered at its second meeting to be held in Tehran in late July 2004.

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