ESCWA held an Expert Group Meeting on 19 and 20 July, to discuss the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Arab region, as part of a report to be published on the subject later this year. The meeting discussed regional priorities, different forms of partnerships for development through trade and finance integration, cooperation on water management, labour migration and food security issues.

UN Under-Secretary General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf is keen on asserting UN agencies, and particularly ESCWA's, commitment to provide all forms of support to Member Countries' governments in furthering their national efforts towards sustainable development.

In an effort to raise awareness about the work of the United Nations and help people to address challenges of the third millennium, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will directly communicate with individuals from around the world via social media. The communication, through Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and Livestream as well as the UN Webcast (http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/index.html), will take place on 13 September, at 11 am New York time.

Against the backdrop of development challenges facing Arab countries and the popular movements sweeping the region, ESCWA today opened an expert group meeting at the UN House in Beirut to discuss recent transformations in the Arab world and develop the Commission’s strategic framework for the 2014-2015 biennium.