Azerbaijan elected as chair of UNCCD regional group and COP16 Bureau member

Azerbaijan was unanimously elected as the chairman of the Central and Eastern Europe regional group and a member of the COP16 Bureau for a two-year term during the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), currently being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2 to 13.

According to a statement issued by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Azerbaijan's election to these prominent positions highlights the country's commitment to addressing desertification and land degradation.

As the chair of the regional group, Azerbaijan will also hold the position of vice-president of the Conference of the Parties. The group includes 15 Eastern and Central European states, including Azerbaijan. The Regional Action Program of the UNCCD's Eastern and Central Europe group, established in 2001 within the framework of COP5, was approved in 2015. Priority areas for the group include strengthening regional activities, promoting ecological agriculture, and advancing knowledge-sharing on sustainable land management practices.

The main tasks of the COP16 Bureau, which represents 12 regions, are to oversee the implementation of COP decisions and to organize work on future COP sessions. The Bureau is also responsible for ensuring the implementation of commitments made between COP sessions.