Good morning and welcome to the UN House in Beirut.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Executive Secretary, Dr. Rima Khalaf, it is my pleasure to welcome you today at ESCWA to the launch of the “Survey of Economic and Social Developments in 2010-2011”, which is one of ESCWA’s flagship publications.

Availability and access to objective information on the socio-economic status of the region are key to armour decision-makers with the tools for better policy-making, thus the overall objective of the Survey is be a decisive part of any decision-makers’ toolbox. To create such a compendium of information, Member Countries task ESCWA since the 1970s with the annual preparation of a “Survey of Economic and Social Developments in the Region” that traditionally focuses only on socio-economic issues only. This year’s Survey, however, dedicates a chapter to the environmental pillar of development, as it is in the interest of the Region that we serve, and for the benefit of the people on whose behalf we work, that we make every effort to integrate knowledge and to include every lesson learned along the way for better policy recommendations.

Over the past years our region faced – and still continues to do so – multiple crises and today is a critical time for setting a course regionally and globally towards more inclusive and more sustainable development, because, for example: The Arab Spring highlights the exclusionary nature of Arab society and polity, which needs to be changed through employment creation as basis of post-revolutionary and sustainable growth; the depletion of natural resources stresses the urgent need for economic diversification, while human development indices speak volumes about the importance of social protection measures. Even though these examples appear as separate issues, their causes and effects are interrelated, and we need an objective and comprehensive socio-economic snapshot not to have benchmarks, but also to derive effective development strategies.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please do note that the Survey is predominantly a technical view of the key drivers and variables affecting Arab economies. It attempts to bridge the gap between the social and the economic sphere, as well as to discuss related environmental aspects such as green growth. The Survey makes observations and provides data to support understanding and explanation of the socio-economic trends at the regional, sub-regional and country-level including projections of growth and consumer inflation. As a data compendium and reference publication, it leaves deeper and focused analysis of specific issues to other dedicated ESCWA publications.

In line with the multi-sectoral nature of economic development, the present Survey is the product of true collaboration across substantive Divisions in ESCWA – namely the Economic Development and Globalisation Division who took the lead, the Sustainable Development and Productivity Division as well as the Social Development Division – with input from Member Countries and external partners. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to engage ESCWA’s expertise and capability to provide this comprehensive status report on socio-economic development in the region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Without further ado, I hand over to Dr. Abdallah Al-Dardari, the Director of the Economic Development and Globalisation Division, who will introduce his team and share with you the key messages of the ESCWA “Survey of Economic and Social Developments in 2010-2011”. The ESCWA experts from the three divisions involved in the preparation of the Survey will the give a technical presentation on the content of the survey. To conclude today’s launch event, Mr. Dardari will summarize the main policy recommendations derived from the Survey and will lead the Q&A session in which all ESCWA experts stand ready to answer your questions.

I understand that you have received already a comprehensive press kit containing a copy of the Survey and additional material. Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything we can do to follow-up. I trust you will find the Survey to be a useful tool for decision-makers in the region and this launch event a productive opportunity to discuss current socio-economic issues. My colleagues and I look forward to your feedback and, again, welcome you at ESCWA and UN House.

I thank you.