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UN-ESCWA to Hold Fifth Session of Technical Committee on Liberalization of Foreign Trade and Economic Globalization

20
April
2007
Beirut

The Fifth Session of the UN-ESCWA Technical Committee on Liberalization of Foreign Trade and Economic Globalization will convene at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Beirut from 24 to 26 April 2007. The meetings will be attended by representatives of the ministries of trade and finance in member countries, in addition to representatives of relevant international and regional organizations as observers.

The session, which will be opened at 10:00 am on Tuesday 24 April, aims to provide a forum for the discussion of developments in the new world trade system and the challenges faced by the countries of the region because of the current World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations; and to allow member countries to consider the progress that has been made in respect of negotiations on Doha Development Agenda issues and discuss possible alternatives, given the breakdown in WTO negotiations. A further aim of the session is to bring to the attention of member countries the most important Monterrey Consensus-related applications in the UN-ESCWA region, and involve those countries in identifying programme priorities as part of the proposed strategic framework for the work of UN-ESCWA for the biennium 2008-2009 in the field of trade and WTO-related issues and, in particular, foreign direct investment and capital markets in the ESCWA region.

The agenda of the session will also include a review of action taken in the field of liberalization of foreign trade and economic globalization since the fourth session of the Committee through: following up on the implementation of the recommendations made by the fourth session; monitoring the progress made in implementing liberalization of foreign trade and economic globalization-related activities since the fourth session of the Committee; and reviewing UN-ESCWA advisory services and technical cooperation activities.

It is worth noting that the Technical Committee on Liberalization of Foreign Trade and Economic Globalization in the Countries of the UN-ESCWA Region was established pursuant to the Commission’s resolution 214 (XIX) of 7 May 1997, and the Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/12 of 18 July 1997. The aim of establishing such a committee was to: contribute to the identification of concerns and priorities of the UN-ESCWA member countries with respect to multilateral trade agreements and negotiations; monitor developments in global trade negotiations and the establishment of economic and trade blocs, and coordinate the positions of Committee member countries in that regard; cooperate with the UN-ESCWA secretariat in formulating programmes to assist the countries of the region in designing appropriate policies for economic development at the national and regional levels, with a view to extending the benefits to those countries of trends in liberalization of foreign trade and economic globalization; and formulate programmes for training, exchange of expertise and research to be taken jointly by the countries of the region in cooperation with other regional and international organizations.