Arab Ministers will discuss ways of facing youth unemployment in Western Asia in a roundtable to be held during the UNESCWA 24th Ministerial Session from 10 to 11 May 2006 at the UN House, Beirut, under the patronage of Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri.

The regular meeting of the UNESCWA Advisory Committee began with a word from Executive Secretary Mervat Tallawy saluting the Lebanese people who “persevered during the destructive war that raged on, inflicting death and displacement.” She also saluted the governments and Arab peoples who “rushed to assist Lebanon in its plight and provided whatever they could.”

After an intensive discussion at the UN House, international and regional experts as well as senior government officials agreed that engaging citizens in attaining national development agendas is an imperative. Over 35 participants attended the meeting organized by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and ESCWA, from 3 to 6 December 2012, in Beirut. Taking cue from their governments at the Rio+20 Summit this June, the participants agreed on the importance of governance and the inclusion of socially vulnerable groups in achieving sustainable development.