ECO, ISDR to Cooperate in Disaster Risk Reduction

10 May 2007:Tehran

The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the United Nations Secretariat of International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

According to ECO Secretariat press release, ECO Secretary General Khurshid Anwar and the Director of the UN/ISDR Salvano Briceno signed the MOU at the ECO headquarters in Tehran on Wednesday.

The two organizations have agreed to formalize cooperation in the fields of disaster risk reduction, building the resilience of communities against natural hazards, enhancing local and national capacities to reduce risks and vulnerabilities.

Furthermore the UN agency would support ECO member states in these areas by extending technical assistance, promoting sub-regional and intra-regional cooperation among ECO member states.

ISDR and ECO also would hold periodic consultations, jointly organize workshops, exchange information and experiences and support national and regional programs and initiatives with special focus on promoting safer school facilities.

ECO attaches priority to disaster risk reduction because some of its members states are high risk countries and three of them, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey have been struck by devastating earthquakes in recent years.

Signing the MOU between ECO and ISDR is part of their joint efforts to intensify cooperation for disaster reduction.

Link: Islamic Republic News Agency