On 10 September 2014, ESCWA launched from its Beirut headquarters a report entitled "The conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic: The impact at the Macroeconomic Level and the Obstacles on the Way to the Millennium Development Goals." A host of Arab and foreign diplomats and experts took part in the event. Also participating was the Editor-in-Chief of As Safir newspaper Talal Salman who delivered a keynote address. Speakers in the event included ESCWA Senior Economist and Head of the Economic Development and Globalization Division Abdallah Al Dardari, Chief of the ESCWA Economic Policies Section Khaled Abu Ismail, and Chief of the ESCWA Economic Modeling and Forecasting Section Hedi Bchir. Discussants of the report included economic and development experts Raslan Khaddour and Jomaa Hijazi.

The event opened with an introductory welcome by Al Dardari, who clarified that this report is different than the national report produced in Syria annually on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by the Syrian government in cooperation with the United Nations. Instead, the report tackles this issue from an analytical viewpoint focusing on the repercussions of the conflict on the macroeconomic level. The report includes data and real live facts about the development and economic situation of the Syrian Arab Republic, until the end of the year 2013, in addition to an analysis on future prospects conducted by the ESCWA team, Al Dardari added.
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