The 28th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) continued its deliberations this afternoon, and assessed regional progress on sustainable development in the context of the move away from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global process, which is being led by the world body. High-level government officials representing the member countries of ESCWA reviewed the latest developments in the field of sustainable development and stressed the importance of the strategic partnership between ESCWA and the League of Arab States (LAS), firstly to develop consensus on national priorities, objectives and targets, and secondly to successfully incorporate the Arab regional perspective into the broader global dialogue on defining development goals for decades to come. Towards the development of this regional consensus, the milestone Arab High-level Forum on Sustainable Development, had taken place in Amman, Jordan, in April 2014, and presented key stakeholders from government, civil society, academia, the UN, and regional multilateral partners with an opportunity to share perspectives, exchange information and set development priorities. Participants in the Session reviewed the outcome report of the Amman Forum, which began by assessing progress on the achievement of MDGs and outlined a set of SDGs for the Arab region. They also proposed the Arab Strategic Framework for Sustainable Development with a regional roadmap for Green Economy investment as its operational instrument, and identified means of implementations for such a strategy, including financing, technology transfer and capacity-building. Hosted by Tunisia from 15 to 18 September, the 28th Session of ESCWA will conclude its senior official’s discussions tomorrow with a series of recommendations to be adopted by the ministerial segment. The Session’s ministerial meeting kicks off on Wednesday in the presence of Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomâa. It is intended to close with a ministerial declaration on Social Justice. ESCWA is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations. It provides a framework for the formulation and harmonization of sectoral policies for member countries; a platform for congress and coordination; a home for expertise and knowledge, and an information observatory. It aims at supporting economic and social cooperation between the region’s countries and promoting development process in order to achieve regional integration. Libya, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Tunisia became members of ESCWA in September 2012. By this new membership, the number of ESCWA countries rose to seventeen, including: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The Sudan, The Syrian Arab Republic, The United Arab Emirates and Yemen. **** For more information, please visit: http://www.escwa.un.org/about/gov/sessions/maine.asp?lang=e&ID=173 Or contact: ESCWA Communication and Information Unit (ECIU): +961-70-993144/76-046402/ 03-910 930 dargham@un.org, abi-zaki@un.org, sleiman2@un.org, escwa-ciu@un.org United Nations Information Centre-Tunis: +216-71902203/71906615 +216-22-487247/+216-20-300110 kaouther.bizani@unic.org, bizani@un.org, samia.sfar@unic.org, sfar@un.org