Hossein Panahi Azar, Deputy Minister for Administration and Finance and Dr. Gholamhossein Dehghani, Deputy Minister for Legal and International Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, met with Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Mazaheri, president of the ECO Cultural Institute, at the headquarters of this international organization on Monday, August 27, 2019.
According to ECI public relations, during the visit, Dr. Mazaheri expressed his appreciation for the support rendered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran to facilitate the activities of this international institution and briefed the guests on the future plans and programs of the ECO Cultural Institute.
The Deputies Foreign Minister also appreciated the expansion of ECI activities during the tenure of Dr. Mazaheri and emphasized on their continuation in the near future.
Also at the meeting, the directors of financial and international Affairs of the ECO Cultural Institute presented reports on financial problems of this international institution and the impact of issues such as sanctions on the exacerbation of these problems. Moreover, solutions to these problems were discussed.
Furthermore, a report on the latest status of payment of annual contributions to the budget of ECI and other international organizations was presented and the deputies Foreign Minister emphasized that ECI's performance has been well beyond the expectations during the tenure of Dr. Mazaheri and is thus, Iran's contribution to its budget is a priority as the same contribution to the UN.
It is noteworthy that during the tenure of Dr. Mazaheri at the ECO Cultural Institute, this international institution has implemented all of its approved programs despite numerous financial problems.