Tuesday, 26 June 2012 (ESCWA Communication and Information Unit)-- The water and energy sectors are both facing challenges related to climate change, energy security, increasing water scarcity, as well as issues associated with the population accessing each of these commodities. Due to this water-energy nexus, water and energy issues cannot be addressed separately when it comes to formulating strategies related to energy, water and the environment.

ESCWA Deputy Executive Secretary Nadim Khoury will take part in the annual meeting of cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States (LAS) that will be held at the UN Office in Vienna (UNOV), on 10-12 July 2012.

The meeting will review UN-LAS cooperation and assess progress in implementing recommendations made in the 2008 meeting and 2012 sectoral meeting. It will also discuss issues of high importance to the region.

Khoury will be delivering a statement on behalf of ESCWA.

During a press briefing to highlight the main findings of the “Survey of Economic and Social Development in the ESCWA Region 2011-2012,” held this morning at the U.N. House in Beirut, Mr. Abdullah Al-Dardari, Director of Economic Development and Globalization Division (EDGD) said that all-time high oil revenue amidst the Arab Spring resulted in growth polarization between major oil exporters and the rest of the ESCWA region.

ESCWA is conducting a survey on Digital Arabic Content to analyze the importance of Arabic language content in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. All concerned companies and experts are invited to participate to help make this survey accurate and representative. It would take 10-15 minutes to complete the questionnaire of the survey. For more information about the survey, please visit the following link: http://isper.escwa.un.org