TEHRAN – The United Nations and the Iranian government are going to map out a new partnership on sustainable development for the next five years, UN Iran Resident Coordinator, Stefan Priesner, has said.

“We are at a key moment where we are now beginning to map out our partnership on sustainable development for the next five years – we are currently working with Government to develop the new cooperation framework – what we call the UNSDCF, UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.

Iran has made many notable contributions to the development and humanitarian sphere. The partnership between the UN and Iran goes back a long way. Already in 1950, the UN opened its first office, and today an impressive number of agencies - 18 – is the testimony of large-scale cooperation, he said, addressing a ceremony to mark the 76th anniversary of the United Nations in Tehran on Wednesday.

“And we should acknowledge that Iran has made many notable contributions to the development and humanitarian sphere, including, hosting several million refugees and migrants for over four decades and including them among others in education and health services, and most recently in the COVID national vaccination plan.

Moreover, playing a significant role in stemming the flow of illicit drugs from Afghanistan to the world through the seizure of the largest amounts of hard drugs of any country in the world,” he explained.

In Iran in the last few months, the rapid roll-out of the national vaccination plan was commendable, he highlighted.

UN agencies accelerated support – to date 15 million vaccines have landed in Tehran together with other medical supplies, 1.6 million doses were provided specifically to the vulnerable Afghan population, he added.

“We must take the lessons that we learned from these last two years of COVID and also more broadly as we see the dramatic challenges the world faces in the environment and climate change, backsliding on education and reduced access to social services, and with poverty and hunger rising around the world for the first time in decades,” he said.

At the end of the event, a book entitled “United Nations and Iran Partnership” was unveiled.

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