Resolution adopted by the General Assembly  on 25 July 2019          [without reference to a Main Committee (A/73/L.74 and A/73/L.74/Add.1)]       73/330. Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic  Cooperation Organization        The General Assembly,    Recalling its resolution 48/2 of 13 October 1993, by which it granted observer  status to the Economic Cooperation Organization,    Recalling also its previous resolutions on cooperation between the United  Nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization, in which it invited various  specialized agencies, as well as other organizations and programmes of the United  Nations system and relevant financial institutions, to join in the efforts towards  realizing its goals and the objectives of the Economic Cooperation Organization,    Appreciating the efforts of the Economic Cooperation Organization to  strengthen its relations with the United Nations system and with relevant international  and regional organizations for the development and implementation of projects and  programmes in areas of common interest,    Noting the efforts made by the United Nations system and the relevant  international and regional organizations in extending technical and financial  assistance to the Economic Cooperation Organization for the development and  implementation of programmes and projects pertaining to socioeconomic progress,  and encouraging them to continue their support,    1.  Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the  implementation of resolution 71/16 of 21 November 2016,1 and acknowledges the  growing cooperation between the two organizations;    2.  Takes note of the Economic Cooperation Organization Vision 2025 and the  Islamabad Declaration, issued at the thirteenth summit meeting of Heads of State  and/or Government of the States members of the Economic Cooperation  Organization, held in Islamabad on 1 March 2017;  __________________    1  See A/73/328-S/2018/592, sect. II.   A/RES/73/330  Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic  Cooperation Organization   19-12816 2/7      3.  Also takes note of the Baku Declaration, issued at the twelfth summit  meeting of Heads of State and/or Government of the States members of the Economic  Cooperation Organization, held in Baku on 16 October 2012; 2     4.  Further takes note of the Dushanbe Communiqué, issued at the twenty- third meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization,  held in Dushanbe on 17 April 2018;    5.  Appreciates the continuing efforts to strengthen the existing cooperation  between the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Economic  Cooperation Organization, especially in the field of trade capacity-building of  member States, notes with satisfaction the completion of the implementation of the  third phase of their joint programme in 2017, aimed at enhancing the capacity of  member States to strengthen their standards, metrology, testing and quality  infrastructure, and invites the relevant United Nations institutions and agencies to  consider supporting the implementation of the fourth phase of the project;    6.  Invites the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the  World Trade Organization and the International Trade Centre to develop strategies for  the States members of the Economic Cooperation Organization for trade liberalization  and the promotion of foreign direct investment to facilitate the global and regional  integration of their economies;    7.  Notes the progress made on the trade facilitation programme of the  Economic Cooperation Organization, and invites the World Trade Organization and  relevant United Nations institutions and agencies, especially the Economic and Social  Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Conference on Trade and  Development and the United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade and  Transport in Asia and the Pacific, to support the Economic Cooperation Organization  in developing a trade facilitation strategy and agreement, single windows in the  member States, the TradeNet web portal and a unified visa system for facilitating the  work of the region’s businesspeople and enhancing regional trade;    8.  Appreciates the efforts of the Economic Cooperation Organization to  implement the Economic Cooperation Organization Trade Agreement 3  for the  enhancement of intraregional trade, and invites the World Trade Organization, the  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the International Trade  Centre to consider extending technical assistance to the Economic Cooperation  Organization for the implementation of the Trade Agreement and the development  and implementation of comprehensive strategies to assist the States members of the  Organization in the trade facilitation process, leading to the regional and global  integration of their economies;    9.  Welcomes the outcomes of the ninth meeting of Ministers of Transport of  the States members of the Economic Cooperation Organization, held in  Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, on 3 May 2018, which noted the improved performance  of Economic Cooperation Organization regional transit transport and prioritized key  projects for the near future while effectively implementing the Sustainable  Development Goals on transport, including Goals 9 and 17, 4 and General Assembly  resolution 72/212 of 20 December 2017, entitled “Strengthening the links between all  modes of transport to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” in the region;    10. Notes the basic development needs of landlocked countries, including their  need to overcome the limitations arising from their geographical positions, the lack  of access to open seas and seaport facilities and other challenges hindering their  __________________    2  A/67/581, annex.    3  United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2562, No. 45696.    4  See resolution 70/1.   Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic  Cooperation Organization  A/RES/73/330   3/7 19-12816    promotion of transit transport cooperation, and invites the United Nations  Development Programme, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian  Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Office of the  High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing  Countries and Small Island Developing States and other relevant international and  regional bodies to assist and cooperate with the Economic Cooperation Organization  on the proposed study project of the Office and the Organization on the possibility of  providing concessional services for landlocked countries in selected ports of transit  countries of the region, including the establishment of effective logistics-based  networking between the Organization’s major seaports and dry ports in landlocked  countries;     11.  Encourages all the relevant international financial and specialized  institutions, taking into account the key role played by the railway and road networks  of the region as land bridges between Asia and Europe, to consider participating in  the implementation of the decision of the Ministers of Transport of the Economic  Cooperation Organization at their ninth meeting to address investment gaps in the  transport infrastructure networks and the need for mobilization of concessional  financial resources for supporting regional transport corridors and connectivity in the  Organization region, and invites the Economic Cooperation Organization Trade and  Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Economic Commission  for Europe to coordinate the establishment of a partnership/coordination platform of  financial institutions;    12. Notes with satisfaction the conduct of the feasibility study on the customs  provisions of the Transit Transport Framework Agreement and the modernization of  border crossing points in the Economic Cooperation Organization region, and  encourages the States members of the Organization to continue to take action at the  national level on the implementation of a five-year plan of action for the  modernization of customs border crossings of member States aimed at the  upgrading/modernization of existing border crossing points services, improvement of  customs-related infrastructure and institutional and legal strengthening in order to  meet international standards;    13. Welcomes the reactivation of the membership of Afghanistan in the  Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR  Carnets (TIR Convention) 5  and the finalization of formalities for accession by  Pakistan to the TIR Convention, encourages the States members of the Economic  Cooperation Organization that have not done so to accede to the Convention on the  Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road 6 and those that have done  so to accede also to the Additional Protocol thereto 7 and other relevant international  instruments facilitating the movement of goods, and invites the relevant United  Nations institutions and agencies and other international bodies to provide the  necessary support to the States members of the Organization, in particular for  capacity-building activities;    14. Encourages the finalization of the intergovernmental framework  agreement on operationalizing and commercializing the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan- Islamic Republic of Iran railway route by developing a common corridor management  mechanism to raise operational efficiency through greater interoperability of  infrastructure and railway operations among en-route countries, and notes that, once  operationalized, the common corridor management mechanism of the Economic and  __________________    5  United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1079, No. 16510.    6  Ibid., vol. 399, No. 5742.    7  Ibid., vol. 2762, No. 5742.   A/RES/73/330  Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic  Cooperation Organization   19-12816 4/7    Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Islamic Development Bank and the  Economic Cooperation Organization will apply for all other rail routes of the  Organization;    15. Expresses satisfaction at the fulfilment of the mandate given by the  Ministers of Information and Communications Technologies of the Economic  Cooperation Organization at their first meeting, which has culminated in the conduct  of two regional studies, a joint Economic Cooperation Organization-International  Telecommunication Union study on information and communications technology  needs of the States members of the Organization and a study on information society  services in the Organization region, with technical assistance from the International  Telecommunication Union, resulting in the draft 2025 Economic Cooperation  Organization Regional Strategy for Information Society Development and its Action  Plan, serving as a road map to promote integration and cooperation among member  States in information and communications technologies, and invites the International  Telecommunication Union to continue to extend its institutional guidance and  assistance to the activities of the Organization in the action-oriented phase in  implementation of the Action Plan;    16. Invites the Economic Commission for Europe and the United Nations  Conference on Trade and Development to cooperate with the Economic Cooperation  Organization for the facilitation of transit trade among the States members of the  Organization and the modernization of their border crossing points;    17. Notes the initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United  Nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization to prepare a technical assistance  project proposal on the implementation of the regional programmes for food security  of the Economic Cooperation Organization under the Global Agriculture and Food  Security Programme administered by the World Bank, and invites the relevant United  Nations institutions and agencies, especially the Food and Agriculture Organization  of the United Nations and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization,  to consider providing technical and financial assistance to the Economic Cooperation  Organization for preparing and implementing detailed project proposals under the  programme components suitable to the needs of the member States;    18. Recognizes the growing importance of tourism in the sustainable  development of the region and its potential in the promotion of a sustainable economy,  and invites the relevant United Nations institutions and agencies and other  organizations, especially the World Tourism Organization, the United Nations  Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and the  World Bank, to consider extending financial and technical support to the Economic  Cooperation Organization for the development of regional projects related to tourism  promotion and to support its programmes;    19. Notes the ongoing endeavours of the Economic Cooperation Organization  towards achieving more diverse and resilient energy architecture in the Organization  region, supported by the mainstreaming of cleaner and sustainable energy sources,  which are also in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and Sustainable  Energy for All, and thus calls upon the United Nations agencies concerned to consider  rendering financial and technical support for Economic Cooperation Organization  regional projects in the fields of clean energy, renewables, energy efficiency and  conservation and the energy-environment nexus;    20. Welcomes the recent cooperation between the Economic Cooperation  Organization and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization towards  the launching of the preparatory phase of the establishment of the Economic  Cooperation Organization Clean Energy Centre, and calls upon the relevant United  Nations agencies and international financial institutions and instruments, in particular   Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic  Cooperation Organization  A/RES/73/330   5/7 19-12816    global environmental funds, the Islamic Development Bank and European Union- related sources, to extend their financial and technical support for the different stages  of implementation of the project;    21. Highlights the importance of harmonization and alignment towards a  regional power/electricity market within the Economic Cooperation Organization  region, encourages the States members of the Organization to harness benefits from  increasing regional electricity trade and integrating power systems through the  implementation of the initiative on the establishment of the Economic Cooperation  Organization Regional Electricity Market, and invites the relevant United Nations  agencies and international organizations, in particular the Energy Charter secretariat,  to extend their support to these efforts;    22. Recognizes the significance of mutual cooperation between the United  Nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization in addressing the global  challenges referred to in its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled  “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, and  emphasizes the necessity of regular cooperation between the two organizations for  achieving the goals envisaged in that resolution;    23. Welcomes the enhancement of cooperation between the Economic  Cooperation Organization and the environment-related agencies, conventions and  forums of the United Nations, in particular the United Nations Environment  Programme, the United Nations Forum on Forests, the Economic and Social  Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  and the secretariats of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,  the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries  Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa and the  Convention on Biological Diversity;    24. Notes the finalization of the project development phase of the project on  combating desertification with a special emphasis on dust haze and sand storms in the  Economic Cooperation Organization region, and invites the relevant United Nations  agencies, in particular the secretariats of the United Nations Convention to Combat  Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or  Desertification, Particularly in Africa, the United Nations Framework Convention on  Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations  Forum on Forests, to extend the support necessary to mobilize financial resources for  the project;    25. Notes with satisfaction the outcome of the Economic Cooperation  Organization-United Nations Forum on Forests expert meeting on enhancing regional  and subregional involvement in the work of the international arrangement on forests,  held in Tehran from 26 to 28 September 2016, and the Economic Cooperation  Organization side event held on 12 December 2016 in Cancun, Mexico, on the  margins of the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention  on Biological Diversity, and urges the secretariat of the Convention and the Forum to  consider rendering their support to fundraising for the relevant projects of the  Organization in the fields of sustainable forest management and biodiversity;    26. Highlights the importance of enhanced cooperation between the Economic  Cooperation Organization and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system  concerning the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, and encourages the  relevant United Nations entities, especially the United Nations Development  Programme, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the United Nations  Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health  Organization, to consider extending technical and financial support to the Economic  Cooperation Organization in this regard, as appropriate;   A/RES/73/330  Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic  Cooperation Organization   19-12816 6/7      27. Appreciates the efforts of the Economic Cooperation Organization to  enhance cooperation in the field of health in the region in collaboration with  international organizations and the specialized agencies, especially the World Health  Organization, the International Society of Blood Transfusion, the United Nations  Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United  Nations Population Fund, and encourages their continued support for the activities of  the Economic Cooperation Organization in the field of health;    28. Notes the vulnerability of the States members of the Economic  Cooperation Organization to natural disasters, and urges the relevant United Nations  institutions and agencies, including the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk  Reduction, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat,  the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the Economic and  Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Development  Programme, to consider expanding their cooperation with the Economic Cooperation  Organization in the area of natural and human-made disaster risk reduction and also  to consider extending their technical and financial support for the activities of the  Organization in the field of natural disaster risk reduction in the region, including the  recent Economic Cooperation Organization Regional Framework for Disaster Risk  Reduction fostering the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk  Reduction 2015–20308 in the region, and invites relevant international organizations  and financial institutions to assist the implementation of the Regional Framework;    29. Highlights the importance of high-quality statistics as a tool for the  implementation of development goals and the importance of future cooperation and  partnership between the Economic Cooperation Organization and the Statistics  Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat in this  regard, and encourages the Division to consider extending technical and financial  support to the Organization in the field of statistics, as appropriate;    30.  Appreciates the joint cooperation between the Economic Cooperation  Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in  conducting a training workshop on the CountrySTAT system, in Tehran from 24 to  28 July 2016, as part of the second phase of the project of the Food and Agriculture  Organization of the United Nations on support for the implementation and development  of the CountrySTAT framework in the Economic Cooperation Organization region;    31. Also appreciates the efforts and activities of the Economic Cooperation  Organization in compiling and disseminating drug-related data, and organizing  workshops and training programmes aimed at enhancing the technical and  professional expertise of the officials working in the relevant anti-narcotics forces  and agencies of its member States, and encourages the United Nations agencies and  the donor community, such as the European Commission and the United Nations  Office on Drugs and Crime, to continue to provide technical and financial assistance  to the Organization in its efforts against drug-related and other related crimes;    32. Acknowledges the ongoing efforts of the States members of the Economic  Cooperation Organization to strengthen regional cooperation to combat drugs and  organized crime, including the establishment of a police mechanism, a regional  judicial and legal cooperation mechanism and the Economic Cooperation  Organization regional centre for the cooperation of anti-corruption agencies and  ombudsmen, and invites the relevant organizations of the United Nations system and  other international organizations, including the International Criminal Police  Organization (INTERPOL) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to  assist and support those efforts;  __________________    8  Resolution 69/283, annex II.   Cooperation between the United Nations and the Economic  Cooperation Organization  A/RES/73/330   7/7 19-12816      33. Appreciates the contributions made by the Economic Cooperation  Organization towards reconstruction and development in Afghanistan, commends its  active participation in and constructive contributions to various regional and  international initiatives on Afghanistan, especially appreciates its support for the  high-level Core Group of Regional Forum Secretaries-General, established at the  meeting of the regional bodies on 19 July 2010, the Regional Economic Cooperation  Conference on Afghanistan and the Istanbul Process on Regional Security and  Cooperation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan, 9  and invites relevant United  Nations agencies and other international organizations to assist the Economic  Cooperation Organization in implementing its Advocacy Programme for Afghanistan  adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Organization at its twenty-third meeting,  held in Dushanbe, with the aim of assisting Afghanistan in its efforts for stability,  reconstruction, economic growth and sustainable development;     34. Notes with appreciation the activities of the Cultural Institute, the Science  Foundation and the Educational Institute of the Economic Cooperation Organization  as specialized agencies of the Organization to foster regional cooperation among its  member States in the fields of culture, science and education, respectively, and  encourages the relevant specialized agencies of the United Nations system, especially  the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to cooperate  with these bodies, within the scope of their mandate and existing resources, in order  to develop and implement appropriate projects for the promotion of science and  education in the region;    35. Recognizes the importance of the role of the Parliamentary Assembly of  the Economic Cooperation Organization in strengthening multifaceted regional  cooperation in the region;    36. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its  seventy-fifth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;    37. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fifth session,  under the item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and  other organizations”, the sub-item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations  and the Economic Cooperation Organization”.    101st plenary meeting  25 July 2019    __________________    9  A/66/601-S/2011/767, annex.