Germany welcomes environmental cooperation with Iran

German’s ambassador to Tehran has signaled his country’s willingness to cooperate with Iran in managing environmental issues.

In a meeting with Michael Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, Masoumeh Ebtekar, vice-president and Director of the Department of Environment, called on Germany to provide Iran with the technology needed to manage its environmental issues.

Ebtekar pointed to environmental cooperation between Iran and Germany, notably participation in international meetings of peace and sustainable development, and said, “Iran welcomes exchanges of experience and bilateral cooperation. The [Iranian] government has a positive view of the environment; however, we face environmental crises, partially attributable to climatic changes and global warming,” Ebtekar added.

“Climatic change and temperatures exceeding global average have significantly reduced the volume of water reserves in Iran, and now the challenge of water shortage looms larger,” she told the German ambassador.

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Ebtekar invited German experts and environmental activists to participate in International Environmental Exhibition to be held in Tehran in the winter.

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Michael Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, for his part, expressed gratitude for the government’s measures under Mrs. Ebtekar’s stewardship to manage the environmental issues, and said that these measures would encourage Germany in cooperation with Iran. “Environmental activists in Germany are very keen on cooperating with Iran in saving Zagros and Hirakani forests and the biodiversity of these forests,” said the German ambassador.

“Germany welcomes cooperation with Iran in water issues, pollution and greenhouse gas control; Germany has great capacities in wind energy, renewable energies and can provide Iran with these services through UN initiatives and other international organizations,” he said.