Iran’s delegation, led by Ahmadreza Lahijan‑Zadeh, Deputy for Marine and Coastal Wetlands at the Department of Environment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, secured approval for: Joint marine research cruises with other member states; secondment of specialist experts to ROPME’s Kuwait-based secretariat; and Iran’s offer to host a regional training center for marine-and-coastal wetland experts.

Also on the agenda was the ROPME secretary-general’s 2025 performance report, and the audited accounts for 2021–2024, both of which met committee scrutiny. The meeting brought together the principal executive committee governments: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the ROPME secretariat in Kuwait.

The newly approved five-year plan lays out coordinated regional action to combat marine pollution, protect coastal habitats and strengthen technical capacity across the ROPME Sea Area — the comparatively shallow waters of the north-western Arabian Gulf and adjacent sea regions. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, ROPME was established in 1979 under the Kuwait Regional Convention to harmonize efforts among eight Gulf-littoral states.

In a symbol of regional engagement, Iran presented a copy of its recently published ‘Atlas of Iran’s Wetlands’ to the ROPME secretariat during the meeting.

Lahijan-Zadeh was welcomed on arrival by secretary-general Mohammad Daoud Al‑Ahmed and Iran’s ambassador to Kuwait, Totonchi.