An informal meeting took place within the framework of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE, on December 9th.

The event was attended by the Secretary-General of the OEC, Khusraw Noziri, the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Aziz Abdukhakimov, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Mukhtar Babayev, the Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, Nury Jumashov, the Director of International Environmental and Energy Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Masoud Rezvanian  Rahaghi, as well as heads of environmental and environmental protection departments of foreign countries and heads of delegations from OEC member states.

"Environmental issues are a priority area of our organization's activities. In this regard, an informal meeting of ministers responsible for the environmental sphere was held on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference COP28. This meeting is of great importance, as the last meeting of ministers of OEC member states took place in 2014. Today's meeting after a long break emphasizes that environmental issues and climate change are relevant, and we need to intensify our search for solutions," noted Khusraw Noziri.

The Secretary-General of the OEC also spoke about the upcoming 1st meeting of the High-Level Dialogue Platform on cooperation in the field of ecology, organized at the initiative of Uzbekistan.

"In November 2021, at the 15th OEC Summit, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to create a special structure within Eco that would deal with cooperation in the field of ecology. After lengthy negotiations, this initiative was implemented in the High-Level Dialogue Platform on cooperation in environmental protection. The relevant decision was made at the 26th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Eco member states, which took place in January of this year in Tashkent.

At this Summit, it was announced by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan that the necessary procedures for the creation of this new structure have been completed, and now we are faced with organizing the 1st meeting of the High-Level Dialogue Platform on cooperation in the field of ecology.

At today's meeting, the head of the Uzbekistan delegation, Minister of Ecology Aziz Abdulkhakimov, announced that Uzbekistan is ready to host the 1st meeting of the High-Level Dialogue Platform in the first half of next year," added K. Noziri.

In turn, Aziz Abdukhakimov emphasized the importance of the global climate change issue and Uzbekistan's initiative to address it.

"Environmental degradation and climate change are the most urgent problem and existential threat that the world and our region are facing today. At the initiative of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a High-Level Dialogue Platform on ecological cooperation has been established. Considering our geographical proximity, we share most of the environmental problems, and that is why the Framework Program for Cooperation of the OEC in the field of environment (2023-2030) is needed more than ever," the minister noted.

Aziz Abdukhakimov also proposed an Action Plan for organizing the upcoming international event.

"We propose to organize a high-level ministerial dialogue on ecological cooperation once a year in a rotational mode and in all member countries. Prior to the annual session, we suggest conducting four expert seminars dedicated to biodiversity, land degradation, SAVING (resource efficiency, sustainable development, circular economy), and climate in the OEC region.

The results of these expert seminars will culminate in the development of a series of Action Plans, the implementation of which will be carefully monitored by a special target group consisting of representatives from each country," the minister explained.

During the unofficial meeting, presentations and speeches by OEC member states were held, discussing the draft Framework Program for Cooperation of the OEC in the field of environment (2023-2030) and its applications, as well as the presentation of the Regional Initiative on resource efficiency, sustainable development, and a closed-loop economy in the OEC region (SAVING).

At the end of the meeting, a joint statement of the Ministers of Ecology meeting was issued.