ESCWA is organizing a session titled “The Role of Renewable Energy in Socio – Economic Development in the Arab Region” on 17 Sept. 2014, from 15:30 to 17:30, at Le Royal Hotel, Dbayeh within the activities of the 5th Beirut Energy Forum. The session will be moderated by Moncef Ben Abdallah, Senior Energy Expert, former Tunisian Industry and Energy Minister. The session will focus on the impact of Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) deployment and the role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in this respect. It will include four themes as follows: potential of local manufacturing of RE equipment and Transfer of Technology; impact of scaling up RE deployment on employment, particularly in rural areas; EE technologies and Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) as tools for creating new job opportunities; and role of SMEs in promoting RE &EE utilization (outcomes of the 2nd Arab Forum for RE and EE, held in Egypt during 18 – 19 June 2014). Speakers will include Giovanna Ceglie, UNIDO Representative and Director of the Regional Office in Cairo; Diala Hawila, representing the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi; Rafik Missaoui, Consultant, Energy and Climate Change Expert, ALCOR General Director in Tunisia; and Ulrike Lehr, Head of RE Department at Gesellschaft für Wirtschaftliche Strukturforschung (GWS) in Germany. For more information about this session, please visit the following link: http://www.escwa.un.org/information/meetingdetails.asp?referenceNum=3506E ECIU kindly requests from all media outlets to give this session the attention it deserves.