Azerbaijan became a member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the 30th of July 1993. Azerbaijan co-operates with UNECE in the fields of environmental protection, transport, customs, energy, implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a number of other areas.
Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of the UNECE, visited Azerbaijan on the 29th to the 30th of November 2018. During the visit, she held a number of high-level meetings, coupled with a round table with the participation of senior representatives of a number of government agencies, which actively co-operate with the Organisation, to discuss the prospects for future co-operation. As part of the visit, a Joint Statement on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was signed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the UNECE. The document facilitates trade and human capacity building, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, investment, technology and innovation, green economy, application of green technologies, environmental monitoring system, water resources protection, air pollution and environmental degradation in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It further aims to promote cooperation in areas such as problem solving, forestry, and quality standards in agriculture.
The following visits of UNECE leaders to our country took place:
- 23 November 2011, Executive Secretary Ján Kubiš;
- 1-2 December 2013, Executive Secretary Sven Alcalas;
- 22-23 November 2016, Executive Secretary Christian Frieze-Bach;
- 29-30 November 2018, current Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova.
A number of UNECE meetings covering various topics were held in Azerbaijan within the framework of ongoing co-operation in economic, social, environmental and other areas.