Renowned Lebanese singer Majida El-Roumy will pay a visit to ESCWA Headquarters, Riad el Solh Square, on Thursday 6 December 2012. Roumi begins her visit at 11:00 AM with an audience with UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf. A tour of the Commission’s premises follows, with a stop in the library, where Ms. El-Roumy will be briefed on work mechanisms and subjects of interest. The tour wraps up with a detailed presentation on ESCWA’s work and programs, with special emphasis on the Commission’s role in youth poverty alleviation in Lebanon and the region.

After an intensive discussion at the UN House, international and regional experts as well as senior government officials agreed that engaging citizens in attaining national development agendas is an imperative. Over 35 participants attended the meeting organized by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and ESCWA, from 3 to 6 December 2012, in Beirut. Taking cue from their governments at the Rio+20 Summit this June, the participants agreed on the importance of governance and the inclusion of socially vulnerable groups in achieving sustainable development.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson concluded this morning a four-day visit to Lebanon where he participated in the 17th meeting of the UN Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) hosted by ESCWA on 10 December 2012 at the UN House, Riad El-Solh Square, Beirut. During his visit, Eliasson met with senior officials and political figures in the country, and made a field visit to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and its area of operations, as well as to two local centres hosting Syrian refugees.

Within the framework of her visit to the Kingdom of Morocco to participate in the Second High-Level Meeting on Transition to Democracy organized by ESCWA in the City of Rabat on 5-6 February 2013, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf met yesterday, Monday, Moroccan Minister Delegate for Public Affairs and Governance Mohammad Boulif. The visit intended to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between Morocco and ESCWA.