Tehran, Iran, 23 June 2020 - The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with the financial support of the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), organized a regional meeting to validate the feasibility and viability of a Clean Energy Centre for the ECO region (CECECO). The meeting was held online due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Representatives from ECO Member States, namely Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and international partners such as Austria, the European Commission, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Energy Charter participated in the meeting.

In their welcome remarks, H.E. Ambassador Huseyin Avni Bicakli, Deputy Secretary General of ECO, and H.E. Stefan Scholz, Ambassador of the Republic of the Austria in the Islamic Republic of Iran, expressed their mutual commitment to the new centre and regional cooperation as a tool to accelerate the energy and climate transformation. “The future prosperity and growth of ECO member states will highly depend on the access to clean, reliable and affordable energy services”, added Ambassador Huseyin Avni Bicakli.

“We are convinced that this center will become a strong member of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centers, which we are promoted in partnership with regional economic communities. There is plenty of room for joint learning and South-South cooperation on clean energy solutions and business models”, said Mr. Tareq Emtairah, UNIDO Director of the Department of Energy.

During the meeting, the participants reviewed the results of CECECO baseline and feasibility assessments, which were conducted by ECO and UNIDO over the past few months. The documents provided concrete recommendations with regard to the best institutional and technical design of the center. The results of the workshop will be submitted to the ECO’s one of the decision-making bodies for consideration and adoption.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact:

Mr. Rovshan Mirzayev, Energy, Minerals and Environment director, ECO Secretariat mirzayev@eco.int

Mr. Martin Lugmayr, GN-SEC Coordinator, UNIDO, m.lugmayr@unido.org

All meeting documents are available at: https://www.gn-sec.net/cececo