As part of its regular work program, and in line with the proposed biennial work plan for 2008-2009, ESCWA and UNSD will be organizing a joint regional Expert Group Meeting on National Accounts, bringing together officials from all of ESCWA 14 member states, together with ESCWA, UNSD, other regional and international organizations, and regional and international experts in the field of National Accounts. The EGM aims at establishing a stable forum platform for the discussion of National Accounts relevant issues, starting from the implementation process and progress plan of SNA 2008, to country profile analysis in the field, up to the proposition of a regional strategy implementation. The EGM is also expected to tackle the main challenges and drawbacks faced by ESCWA member states in the field of National accounts Statistics and to address the area of informal sector estimation. Attached is a preliminary draft of the proposed meeting agenda.