On first day of this Meeting, The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had an opening mark (https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-special-session-of-the-world-health-assembly---29-november-2021). Some top points that he insisted during this session are as follows:

- "Everybody has seen to what extent we were really disorganized and all have seen the failures of the global system,"

- "COVID-19 pandemic shows 'we don't have rules of the game'"- "The idea behind this upcoming session of the World Health Assembly is to start sketching out a new world order to handle future health crises."

- "The best way we can address them is with a legally binding agreement between nations, an accord forged from the recognition that we have no future but a common future,"

- "Omicron demonstrates just why the world needs a new accord on pandemics: our current system disincentivizes countries from alerting others to threats that will inevitably land on their shores,"

Other delegates from all member states also have/will deliver(ed) their points of view regarding the benefits of having a new legally binding instrument or improving existing tools such as IHR 2005 and One Health approach in order to improving the preparedness and response of all countries and WHO for future pandemics and any other health emergency.

On behalf of H.E. Bahram Eynollahi, The honorable Minister of Health and Medical Education of I.R. Iran, Dr. Nicknam, International Affairs Department Director General, delivered the statement on Tuesday 30^th November regarding of the position of Iran.

Remarks by Dr. Nicknam, International Affairs Department Director General, at the Special session of the World Health Assembly:

"It is indeed a pleasure to address this august body at this critical juncture, when the global health community has gathered to evaluate its efforts in identifying the best way forward to strengthen preparedness and response capacities for health emergencies in the future.

Over the past two years, Covid-19 pandemic has caused a great deal of catastrophic ailment and suffering for all people in the world, and the challenge still continues. The lesson learned from the enormous challenge posed by the recent pandemic, is that the world cannot afford to remain idle until the next deadly pandemic strikes. We need to be prepared better and respond more efficiently and effectively in the face of future pandemics.

Iran strongly supports the fundamental role of WHO in global health security and emergency response initiatives, and believes that there is an urgent need to strengthen the Organization in order to fulfill its constitutional mandate, including initiatives to consolidate its efforts vis-à-vis the future global health challenges.

We reiterate our position that the IHR remains an essential existing tool in addressing global health emergencies. However, the IHR efficiency hinges over member States’ capacity and commitment to its implementation. Multilateral cooperation to support IHR implementation, in particular through predictable and sustainable financial support at the national, regional and global levels, is highly important.

We further underline that the relationship between any new legal framework and the existing International Health Regulations would need to be clearly articulated and defined. In our view, any new instrument should complement, and not overlap or substitute the IHR.

We are cognizant of different views and reflections that seek to unify member States towards a common global agenda for more resilient societies to future pandemics. In this regard, we stress that “equal access” to medical countermeasures and manufacturing capacities remains paramount for developing countries that sustain the disproportionate consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current pandemic continues to show the challenges posed by the lack of access to COVID-19 tools and vaccines. This concern must be addressed in any foreseeable outcome of our collective endeavors.

Finally, one of the most important considerations in developing a pandemic treaty is how to ensure a fair supply of medical countermeasures to all member states and streamlined technology transfer to those developing countries which can potentially serve this will. Therefore, the best decision should be made by focusing on this goal. A clear consensus-based path forward towards our shared goal is what we should expect from this whole process.

My delegation remains steadfast to engage constructively in the Special Session’s deliberations. Thank you for your attention."