UN Under-Secretary General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf said that technology is the practical application of knowledge and the most important to produce optimal outcomes in all the interrelated areas of development. She said that the UN has always been a global player in promoting and harnessing technology for development, noting that by 2015, 50 per cent of world population will be connected online.

Under the auspices of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) is organizing "The Arab High-level Forum on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" from 8 to 12 May 2017 at the UN House, Riyad El-Solh square, Beirut.

    The highlight of the forum is the "Conference on Digital Technologies for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" which will open at 9:00 on Wednesday 10 May 2017 and last for Friday 12 May.

Under the auspices of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) "The Arab High-level Forum on World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" from 8 to 12 May 2017 at the UN House, Riyad El-Solh square, Beirut.

Beirut, 25 June 2020--The devastating effects of COVID-19 have severely impacted two main groups of the Arab population: the young and the elderly. Young people, already registering the highest and fastest growing unemployment rate worldwide—23% in 2020—will face serious challenges in re-entering the job market after the lockdown. The pandemic has also heightened the vulnerability of about 32 million older persons in the region.