The project on “Promoting Food and Water Security through Cooperation and Capacity Development in the Arab Region” aims at the development of an institutionalized national and regional monitoring mechanism through an overall assessment of existing national food security policies and strategies in each Arab country. A comparative analysis of these policies was undertaken to establish an enhanced regional food security monitoring system that is tailored according to regional specificities and responds to current and projected priority concerns of the Arab region.

 In this context, ESCWA is organizing the Expert Group Meeting on Tracking Food Security in the Arab Region to review the results of the first comprehensive food security monitoring exercise using the framework developed by ESCWA and its partners, notably AOAD and FAO, and contributors.
The expert group meeting will reaffirm the methodological framework and improvements introduced since the last consultative meeting building on the various comments received from member countries.
 
The specific objectives of the meeting are to:

1. Review and discuss the first food security monitoring framework notably as related to overall observed trends and achievements and considering prevailing conditions in the Arab region;

2. Exchange views and experiences on how to further improve the methodological framework in light of the results obtained, i.e. how to ensure it is more accurate in identifying overall trends; and 

3. Consider the policy implications emanating from the results of the methodological framework and how countries could best build on these to enhance their food security