ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf reviewed challenges facing development in Western Asia and their impact on the role of multilateral system at a technical brainstorming meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) earlier this month in the Chilean capital Santiago.

Khalaf outlined in her presentation the impact of the financial crisis, noting such politically inconvenient challenges as the weak link between growth and unemployment. On the other side of these challenges, which include poverty and conflict-driven displacement, there must be a new development paradigm that adds to the conventional wisdom, and that takes into account issues such as foreign occupations, the impact of climate change and global governance. Khalaf also delved into the role of regional commissions and the multilateral system, pointing to the need to pioneer new region-specific development models and align the UN system's interventions with real needs.

 

Meanwhile, the head of ESCWA held bilateral meetings with senior officials in the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago where she attended the meeting of the Executive Secretaries before heading to participate in the second Arab Socio-Economic Development Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. On the sidelines of the summit meeting, The UN Under Secretary-General met with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Ghait; the Secretary General of the League of Arab States Amr Moussa; President of the Islamic Development Bank Ahmad Mohamad Ali; President of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development Abdel Latif Youssef AlHamad, and with representatives of Morocco and Algeria.