The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the League of Arab States (LAS) are organizing the First Joint Workshop on Developing the Arab Digital Agenda / ICT Strategy (ADAICTS) as a standalone Side-Event in parallel to the 32^nd Arab Working Group on the Arab ICT strategy. The event is being held within the framework of the strategic cooperation between the two organizations and in the context of the related track of Advancing Digital Cooperation and Development Arab States Action Programme, launched by ESCWA in 2020.
The workshop aims to kick-off the process for shaping and developing the ADAICTS as a joint regional public good and to agree on the way forward with prospective partners.
The participatory process will lead to the elaboration of the Unified Arab Digital Agenda for the ten coming years, expected to be finalized by the end of 2021, endorsed by the Arab ICT ministers and launched soon after.

Arab ministers and senior regional and foreign officials took part today in the opening of the 28th ministerial session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), a key regional event hosted by the Tunisian government, and held under the patronage of the President of the Republic, Mr. Moncef Al Marzouki.

In the opening session, Arab and foreign diplomats and senior officials listened to statements that echoed Arab concerns and aspirations towards a better tomorrow guided by social justice.

The High-Level Seminar is co-organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and hosted by the General Authority of Statistics in Saudi Arabia. It will seek a collaborative regional response to the need for economic statistics that support evidence‐based policymaking within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.