The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the Arab NGO Network for Development and the Ministry of Economy and Trade in the Lebanese Republic, are organizing a "High Level Expert Group Meeting on the Preparation of the Arab Countries for the 7Th WTO Ministerial Conference", to be held in Beirut, Lebanon during 11-12 November 2009. The Meeting comes in response to the efforts of the organizers to increase the capacity of the Arab Countries to meet the challenges arising from the international financial and economic crisis and their respective implications on international and regional trade, as well as, on the multilateral trading system. The meeting also aims to address the issues raised by the agenda of the Doha Development Round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and assess the possibilities of consolidating and coordinating Arab positions on these issues.

The General Council of the WTO has recently announced the convening of the 7th WTO Ministerial Conference, due to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, during 30 November to 2 December 2009, in line with Article IV, Paragraph 1 of the WTO Agreement which requests the convening of the Ministerial Conference every two years. The Main theme of discussion shall be:

"The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment"