TEHRAN - Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, has said the United Nations supports Iran’s plan to deal with sand and dust storms.

She expressed hope that UNDP could play a useful and effective role in the issue of water and the environmental problems that exist between neighboring countries, IRNA reported.

He made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran on Tuesday with Department of Environment chief Ali Salajeqeh.

Referring to the long-term cooperation of the UN office with Iran, she said: “Our relationship has always been strong and no external factor can prevent the continuation of this cooperation.”

Wignaraja went on to say that the policy of UNDP is to support the prosperity and development of countries along with the protection of natural resources and the environment.

“In this line, we are cooperating with Iran in three areas of water, waste, and wetlands.”

Wetlands are one of the sources of creating many job opportunities, while they are one of the biggest carbon absorbers and can be managed by relying on knowledge and innovation, the UN official highlighted.

The UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific touched on the termination of the European Union's financial support for the Hamoun wetland’s project, saying: “If the world sees that, despite the international sanctions, UNDP continues its cooperation with Iran, maybe new financial partners can be found to support the project.”

Salajegeh, for his part, emphasized that environmental cooperation should not be affected by political issues.

“We expect the United Nations to work in line with its responsibility to bring countries together and solve global challenges without interfering with political issues.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran has put the issue of environmental diplomacy as a priority in its programs and believes that it is possible to create conditions for political issues to be discussed within the framework of environmental discourse.

In May, Stefan Priesner, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Iran, said the issue of environmental protection is a priority for cooperation with Iran.

According to the program under the agreement between Iran and the United Nations, the environment is one of the priorities for cooperation and efforts are being made to establish good cooperation in this field, he added.

Following up on environmental issues, including climate change, protecting biodiversity, and dealing with air pollution, is given serious attention by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Priesner stressed.

In February, Salajeqeh said that based on the successful experiences of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of combating sand and dust storms, the United Nations introduced Iran as the host of the international conference on combating sand and dust storms, which is scheduled to be held on September 9-10, IRIB reported.

Arrangements have been made with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and this meeting will be held in Tehran with the presence of the environment ministers of the world countries, Salajeqeh said.

In the field of diplomacy, the Department of Environment has held meetings with neighboring countries to the extent that Egypt has also announced its readiness to attend the Tehran meeting, he highlighted.

He pointed out that a delegation from Iran will travel to Iraq in the near future to discuss the issue of sand and dust storms in order to make decisions to deal with the problem.

On April 26, Salajeqeh said the Department of Environment will hold five international meetings in the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 21.

“At least five international meetings will be held this year, one of which is the conference on combating sand and dust storms,” he added, IRNA reported.

One of the approvals of the regional meeting of environment ministers, which was held in Iran last summer, was the establishment of a regional dust organization, he highlighted.

“Environmental diplomacy is the main priority for the country's political diplomacy, so holding the conference on combating sand and dust storms is important for us.”

So far, 11 meetings of the national headquarters for policymaking and controlling dust storms have been held and the results of these meetings should be evaluated and made public, he stressed.

Letizia Rossano, the director of the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM), said in June 2022 that Iran is really at the forefront of understanding the problem of sand and dust storms as well as dealing with it.

MG