UN-ESCWA participated in the “International Conference on Integrated Sustainable Energy Resources in Arid Regions” held in late January 2007 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. The conference aimed to shed light on the available applications for the management of sustainable energy resources and its techniques, and the development and integration of natural energy resources such as water, fossil fuel and renewable energies.

ESCWA Executive Secretary Bader AlDafa held talks with Lebanese Environment Minister Mohammed Rahal and discussed environmental projects and joint cooperation. "We discussed with Minister Rahal a joint project between ESCWA and the Environment Ministry and agreed to form a task force to follow-up on the project. By next week, a technical committee from ESCWA will meet with the team from the ministry and define the objectives and the framework," AlDafa said.