The Executive Committee was established pursuant to ESCWA resolution 320 (XXVIII), which amended the terms of reference of the Technical Committee, redesignating it and increasing its executive role within ESCWA. The Executive Committee plays an important role in steering and coordinating the Commission’s activities, tracking the implementation of recommendations and following up on important regional and global issues, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It held its fifth meeting in Beirut on 18 and 19 December 2018.

The sixth meeting of the Executive Committee will follow-up on the implementation of its fifth meeting recommendations and of the Beirut Consensus on Technology for Sustainable Development in the Arab region. It will review the main findings of the Survey of Economic and Social Developments in the Arab Region 2018-2019 and the ESCWA system for monitoring and evaluating Arab economic integration. Topics of discussion will also include a proposed framework to track social expenditure in Arab States, regional and national efforts to reduce multidimensional poverty, the social and economic situation of Palestinian women and girls, and the barriers to women’s economic participation in the Arab region. The Committee will also be presented with a methodology for institutional capacity assessment and the outcomes of the 2019 Arab Forum on Sustainable Development.