A Belgian official has voiced his country’s interest in expanding ties with Iran, namely cooperation on environmental issues.
During a meeting on Monday between Belgium’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Pieter De Crem and Masoumeh Ebtekar, vice president and head of the Department of Environment, the two sides discussed potential areas of collaboration and called on the international community to double their efforts to protect the environment, Mehr News Agency reported.
De Crem, who led a 30-member delegation to Iran last week, said, “We can cooperate on environmental issues, education and related technology.”
Recalling the commitment of President Hassan Rouhani and his government to environmental protection, Ebtekar said international cooperation is essential to environmental protection and world peace, and said “Iran is ready to share its experience with Belgium.”
She pointed to threats to biodiversity, dwindling water resources and air pollution as grave environmental problems Iran has been grappling with in recent years.
The DOE chief lamented the effects of climate change on Iran and said the impact of global warming on Iran has been “more severe” than would have been expected.
Pointing to the frequent and severe dust storms in Iran, especially in the southern and southwestern regions, she said the majority of dust particles are blown across the border from Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
“That’s why international cooperation is important to tackling environmental problems. Curbing the recurring dust storms is possible only if regional countries cooperate” in a meaningful and sustainable manner, she told the visiting Belgians.
