UN-ESCWA is organizing, in collaboration with the League of Arab States and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Western Asia, a Regional Seminar on Trade and Environment on Monday 20 November 2006, at the League of Arab States in Cairo, Egypt. The Seminar, which is due to open at 10am, will bring together representatives of the Ministries of Environment and of Trade from the Arab Countries, as well as high-level representatives of concerned international and regional organizations and associations who are members of the Joint Committee for Environment and Development in the Arab Region (JCEDAR). Presentations will be made by renowned experts from UNEP, the Institute for International Sustainable Development, UN Conference on Development and Trade (UNCTAD), the League of Arab States, the University of Manchester, Middle East and North Africa Food Safety Associates (MEFOSA) and UN-ESCWA. Participants will examine key trade and environment priorities facing the Arab region and present the findings and recommendations of the studies prepared within the framework of the regional program at the request of Arab Governments. The outcomes of the Seminar will feed into the 8th session of the JCEDAR, which is being held after the Seminar on 21-23 November 2006. This will provide the basis for discussion on trade and environment issues, which will be taken up at the upcoming ministerial session of the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) in December later this year. This event falls within the framework of the Regional Program on Trade and Environment Capacity Building that was adopted by a resolution of CAMRE in 2003. Funding for the Program is provided by the United Nations Development Account inter-regional project on Capacity Building in Trade and the Environment.