Mehdi Mirafazl, the former senior adviser of the United Nations regarding South Cooperation, said about the role of the South Asian Cooperation Regional Organization in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals on Tuesday, April 10 2024, at the round table on the participation of chambers of commerce in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main purpose of the Southern Cooperation Organization is to pursue projects that include common goals for the three countries of the South.
He stated that flexibility cannot be defined and agreed upon in the United Nations system; but this process is ongoing in the Southern Cooperation Organization, he continued: There is a framework for Southern Cooperation in political, cultural, and social fields that includes developing countries and is carried out at the regional and trans-regional levels.
Mirafazl added: The Southern Cooperation Organization has sub-branches whose cooperation is triangular and works with a developed country, which is called triangular cooperation.
He stated that countries that used to be commonwealth or countries like Afghanistan, Haiti and African countries that have fragile cooperation can help us, he continued: It is very important to pay attention to obstacles and characteristics, solidarity is important, otherwise there is no conditionality. It will not exist with the cooperation of the North; however, we do not have any conditions in the cooperation of the south, and all member countries are equal regardless of the state.
The former senior advisor of the United Nations regarding the cooperation of the South, regarding the role of the Regional Organization for South Asian Cooperation in the implementation of the sustainable development goals, stated: The main goal in the cooperation of the South is to learn from each other and to exchange economic capabilities.
Mirafazl pointed out that the member countries of the Northern Cooperation Organization pledged to support the Southerners, and continued: These countries pledged to give 7% of GNI to the developing countries; however, there is no obligation in the cooperation of the South, and the basis is cooperation.
Pointing out that the 17th principle of the “Sustainable Development Goals” emphasizes participation and our role in implementing the goals, he said: the role of policymakers is very important and they should reach coherent policies to achieve the goals of sustainable development.
He further stated: Considering the Corona epidemic, which had significant effects on the economy of developing countries, it is very difficult in past 6 years to meet the seventeen development goals. To act sustainably and in this regard China and India are the two main members.
Mirafazl stated that the implementation of the seventeen goals of sustainable development requires four billion dollars of budget, and added: For this purpose, it is necessary to consider creative mechanisms such as the role of the United Nations.
Participation is the most important principle of the 17 goals of sustainable development;
Javad Amin Mansour, the international consultant of the Chambers of Commerce Conference, also stated in the round table on the participation of the Chambers of Commerce in the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), referring to the 17 concepts and compliments, that the political development of international organizations requires the strict observance of these 17 principles and the achievement of their goals.
Eradication of poverty and hunger in the world by 2030, health and wellness, quality education, gender equality and women's empowerment, access to clean water, clean energy, inclusive economic growth and employment, industry and infrastructure, reducing inequality, sustainable cities and communities. , responsible consumption and production, taking action to prevent climate change, living underwater, living on land, combating deforestation, promoting just societies and peace and participation to achieve the seventeen goals of sustainable development and added: the seventeenth principle means participation to achieve the goals include 16 other principles that emphasize the revival of partnership for sustainable development.
Amin Mansour, pointing out that these seventeen goals were formulated in 2015 by the United Nations as a global call to end poverty and protect the planet, noted that: Our economic activities should be done in a way that is based on preserving the environment, while our economic activities harm the environment, which should not happen.
Isfahan Industries' big step for zero carbon;
The representative of Isfahan Cement Company regarding the actions of the private sector in the field of sustainable development in the cement industry said: the roadmap for the sustainable development of our industries has an idea that wants to exploit natural resources by considering ecosystem services for humans and preserving heritage for the future generation. .
Stating that the environment is the most important principle of sustainable development, he added: If the production of industries is based on the principle of preserving the environment, this is the way of sustainable development.
The representative of Isfahan Cement Company continued: There is a widespread idea in the world that the carbon production rate should reach zero, and in Iran this is important, so that industries should supply at least two percent of their electricity from renewable sources and clean energies.
Pointing out that we are witnessing an untouched market related to clean energy, Shuaei noted: Isfahan cement has many challenges to produce solar energy, and we need to update filter systems in relation to sustainable development. The rest of our activities are preventing water wastage and increasing green space, and Isfahan Cement Company has played an important role in relation to green space.
The necessity of teaching the concepts of sustainable development in society;
Mohsen Mirzaei stated that academic education plays an important role in the economy and sustainable development and said: When we talk about the economy, we cannot ignore the human force; because it is the most important factor in development.
He added: When we study the sustainable development status in the developed countries, we find out that there are specific plans for educating people and the economy and even the cultural system of sustainability and long-term success.
This member of Isfahan Chamber of Commerce emphasized that education is a quicker channel to achieve zero carbon production and expressed: it is necessary to focus on the people and their education; because until if there is not familiarity with the concepts of sustainable development, no form of sustainability will be achieved.
Mirzaei added: What has been of interest in the Isfahan Chamber in the last three years is the research on different models in other countries in the field of winning accelerators, and during a one-year and 9-month program, it has trained 150 teams in the field of export expertise.
It is necessary to keep the SDGs active in the world;
Referring to the role of chambers of commerce in economic diplomacy, Diako Hosseini, the vice president of economic studies of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, said: The role of the private sector to protect the goals of sustainable development in world economic diplomacy is very important. In 1980 when America won the Cold War, SDG appeared. It seems that the liberal order is the final solution for humanity, because we witnessed the emergence of SDG under the shadow of the liberal system; but it is very important to know that geopolitics is controls SDG.
Emphasizing that geopolitics in the world has changed now, he added: We have now entered a new era, which is a multipolar world, and the SDG has become very challenging. These challenges or policies of the superpowers take care of the ecosystems, because from the point of view of the superpowers in the world, everything must be looked at from the point of view of security.
The vice president of economic studies of Tehran Chamber of Commerce considered it necessary to keep the SDG active in the world and said: The elites in different chambers of commerce and awareness in the world can increase various cooperation in the private sector.
He pointed out: Chambers of commerce are facilitators between neutral governments. When two governments are not interested in economic issues, the private sector can play an important role in creating common interests in countries, so that governments can have friendly relations, and the private sector can also be an accelerator and expand friendly relations between countries and reduce tensions, because some governments’ relation is in tension and cannot find a suitable role to solve their problems.
Hosseini clarified: Now we are witnessing that, for example, the private sectors between China and the United States or Russia and the United States are acting as an extension of interests in a multilateral manner. My main proposal is to establish a center for the activities and responsibilities of the ACD member countries, so that members condemn the politicization of trade and take effective measures for more investment.
Sustainable economic development requires cooperation;
 Ali Sadeghi Hamedani, director of Isfahan Chamber of Commerce's research center, regarding the presentation of the latest changes in sustainable development in the world with a focus on ACD countries, said: Now is the time to focus more on the economy.
Stating that we should focus more on opportunities and economic ease, he added: Now the presence of the country's representatives in this conference is an opportunity and we should use their experiences in this field. Iran should seek to improve the current conditions in terms of economy and trade.
He further explained: The World Bank ranks countries economically and now Iran is far from its value position, and the ACD Conference can be useful in terms of exchanging experiences. Undoubtedly, it is not possible to improve the economic position without investment, and investment is not possible without capital and growth.
He clarified: The rate of facilities in recent years has been in an increasing trend by Iran government, while it should cooperate with economic actors, as without cooperation a sustainable economic development might not seem possible.
Based on my experience, there is substantial informal economy in Iran that should be taken into consideration. Apart from discussing international cooperation at this meeting we have to look into the impact of the informal economy on the relations. Informal businesses are significant, and in this conference we have the opportunity to benefit from the experiences of successful countries in controlling the situation.
Sadeghi noted: In Iran's 7th National Development Plan, we should focus on the economy conditions which are not compatible with an 8% annual GDP growth. Based on the government's reports, I estimated that Iran's liquidity is equivalent to about 190 billion US dollars, but we need at least 10 billion dollars of investment. This meeting is an opportunity to remove the existing obstacles against Iranians and talk about organizational policies.
Investment of 100 million euros to reduce water wastage in the steel industry;
Hossein Rafiei, the representative of Isfahan Iron and Steel Company, referring to the actions of the private sector in the field of sustainable development in the steel industry, said: As you know, the steel industry consumes a huge amount of water annually, so it is intended to invest on water resources.
Emphasizing that so far, about 100 million Euros has been invested in the prevention of water wastage, he added: Also, most of the amount of wasted water is in the two cities of Zarinshahr and Fouladshahr.
He then said: In order to prevent significant water wastage, our group has created a center that separates the water consumption of the steel industry from Zayandehrud, but in this way we are facing different challenges, because as you might know, here are many limitations in relation to the environment, so one of the solutions is to invest in this direction.
Stating that there is a lack of information regarding the measures being taken, he said: We are currently inviting investors to introduce new products.