The 23rd meeting of the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) held at the UN-House in Beirut on 20-21 November 2017 came two years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, at a time when Arab countries were and still are facing complex and pressing challenges making it imperative to accelerate the pace of SDG implementation.

The Technical Committee on Liberalization of Foreign Trade and Economic Globalization in the Countries of the ESCWA Region was established pursuant to Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) resolution 214 (XIX) of 7 May 1997 concerning the establishment of a technical committee on the liberalization of foreign trade and economic globalization in the countries of the ESCWA region, and Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/12 of 18 July 1997 concerning the establishment of a technical committee on liberalization of foreign trade and economic globalization in the countr



The workshop explores recent developments in statistical methodologies and new data sources for measuring and monitoring poverty at various levels and dimensions. Specifically, the workshop aims to provide guidance to the NSOs on new knowledge and methodologies to measure and monitor SDGs and Agenda 2030 and identify opportunities, challenges and limitations of using big data for official poverty measurement in low and middle income countries. The workshop will also explore the potential of high frequency surveys to monitor poverty over time and across small areas, particularly targeting vulnerable groups such as refugee populations, and identify future research needs in statistical methodologies and the use of new data sources for living conditions and poverty indicators. Ultimately the workshop will help to achieve a common and improved understanding of new knowledge, methodologies and data sources that would contribute to monitoring poverty over time and across small areas and improving the measurement of some living conditions and poverty indicators for Goals 1 and 10.