The Director of the UNESCWA Sustainable Development and Productivity Division, Ms. Anhar Hegazi today said, “Despite the achievements of Arab countries in answering the basic needs of their populations, including providing housing, infrastructure, and social and service sectors as well as ensuring the continuity of these efforts, the absence of equal rights and the gap in answering the basic needs of various social segments represents a major threat to development results and to achieving sustainability.

The Seventh Session of UNESCWA Committee on Transport will convene at the UN House, Beirut, on Monday 17 April 2006 at 10:00 a.m. under the auspices of Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Mohammed Safadi. The meeting will continue until 19 April and discuss major issues that concern the transport sector due to its importance and its direct impact on the economies of the countries in the region.

In the run-up to the “National Conference on Social Policies in Bahrain” being organized by the Bahraini Ministry of Social Development and UNESCWA in Manama on 24 and 25 April, Bahraini Social Development Minister Fatima bint Mohamed Al Beloushi hoped the conference would be an opportunity for dialogue and partnership to establish social policies for the Kingdom that are based on scientific planning. She also hoped it would lead to a national consensus on social policies between the Ministry of Social Development and concerned experts from the public and private sectors.

UNESCWA is set to host a lecture by Mr. Suleiman Al-Herbish, Director-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development this Thursday 20 April 2006 at 12 noon at the UN House, Beirut.