Beirut, 11 August 2017 (Communication and Information Unit) -- UN Under-Secretary-General ESCWA Executive Secretary Mohamed Ali Al-Hakim continued this week his official visits. Al-Hakim took over his functions at the helm of the regional commission last May.
 
          In this context, Al-Hakim today visited Minister of Energy and Water César Abi Khalil on top of a delegation including Director of Sustainable Development and Policies Division Roula Majdalani and Chief of Energy Section Radia Sedaoui.
 

It is well known that the Arab region suffers greatly from water scarcity, which is directly related to food and Energy security. Many of the countries in the region resorted to unconventional methods to provide for their water needs such as desalination or use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy. Nanotechnology is one of the most important emerging technologies to help meet these challenges. It can provide effective and environmentally acceptable solutions.

The Compendium of Environment Statistics in the ESCWA Region seeks to set a framework for compiling environment statistics for the ESCWA region undertaken by ESCWA in close collaboration with the United Nations Statistics Division and the United Nations Environment Programme and aims at strengthening the capacity of member countries.

This bulletin reviews the impact of the global financial crisis on international migration from and to the Arab region. Starting with an overview of the crisis and the resulting challenges and opportunities for the region, it then reviews lessons learned regarding the impact of wars and previous financial crises on international migration. To this end, the bulletin sets out three cases: the 1973 oil crisis, the 1990-1991 Gulf war and the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.