Beirut, 25 Oct 2011 (UN Information Service) —ESCWA Technology Centre (ETC) opened today an expert group meeting on “Promotion of South-South Cooperation in Technology Transfer”. The meeting is organized in collaboration with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon (FCCIAL), and held at the Chamber of Beirut. Speakers at the opening session included Director of ETC Fouad Mrad and Director General of the Industrial Research Institute in Lebanon Bassam Frenn.

The United Nations employs multilingualism as a tool to promote multilateralism and cross-cultural communication, with each of the six official languages celebrated on a specific day. World Arabic Language Day is commemorated on 18 December, the day when the United Nations General Assembly approved Arabic as an official and working language of the United Nations.

More than half of Lebanon's population is at risk of failing to access their basic food needs by the year’s end, a new study by ESCWA warns, after the Beirut Port Explosion.

In a significant step coming at a critical time in the history of the region, Arab officials and highly skilled experts and intellectuals will gather at UNESCWA to participate in a meeting on the “Role of UNESCWA in Servicing its Member States, the Next Five Years.” The meeting, which will bring together prominent officials and academics, will continue until Wednesday, 25 January 2006.