This document elaborates the content examined during the Arab Regional Consultative Dialogue on the Sustainable Development Goals. First, the discussion showed the importance of SDGs for the Arab region since they will make a significant contribution to global and regional cooperation on development and have far-reaching implications for national planning.

The youth group in the ESCWA region faces numerous challenges, including poor quality of education, incompatibility of education system outputs with the labour market, high unemployment rates, unhealthy life styles and low participation in decision-making and public and political life. In that regard, ESCWA focuses its activities on the need to address youth as a socio-demographic group that should be targeted with special national policies. As part of those activities, ESCWA publishes the fourth issue of the Population and Development Report which contains three parts.

Drawing on country examples, this study looks at women’s economic empowerment in the Arab region, and offers recommendations towards women’s full integration into economic life of the region.

This report presents the findings of a detailed review and analysis of gender issues associated with energy services in Lebanon. It calls attention to the challenges and barriers rural women face in employment and entrepreneurship in energy sectors. It also highlights the potential for gender mainstreaming and identifies  opportunities to support the local private sector, and to promote and expand the use of small-scale renewable energy technologies, while emphasizing the environmental and climate benefits associated with them.