ESCWA opens its “Expert Group Meeting on Moving the Development Agenda Forward: Opportunities and Potential Gains”, tomorrow Thursday 5 November 2009, to discuss challenges facing Arab countries amidst the ongoing global developments.
The opening session of this meeting, which convenes at 10:00 AM, will witness a statement by UN Under-Secretary General and ESCWA Executive Secretary, Bader AlDafa.
The meeting will be attended by a selected group of officials and national, regional and international experts from institutions such as The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research – KISR and the Arab Planning Institute. Participants also include notable academia from esteemed universities such as the American University of Beirut (AUB) and Cairo University.
Discussions revolve on four main themes: climate change and sustainable management of natural resources; youth bulge and the demographic window of opportunity; regional integration for socio-economic development, and development priorities for 2012-2013.