The Arab Regional Conference for the Ten Year Review and Appraisal of the Outcome of HABITAT II “Ten Years after Istanbul: Call for Equity” will be held from 11 to 13 April at the UN House, Beirut.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) will be hosting the Eleventh Meeting of the United Nations Regional Coordination Group on 19-20 June 2006 at the United Nations House, Riadh El Solh Square, Beirut.

The Meeting, which will be opened by UNESCWA Executive Secretary Mervat Tallawy at 5:00 pm on Monday, is intended to coordinate the work of UN Agencies in the region in order to avoid duplication and repetition of their activities.

ESCWA today held a workshop on “Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) to promote sustainable agricultural production, food quality and safety, environmental protection and trade in the Arab Region,” at the UN House in Beirut. The workshop was organized in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and under the patronage of the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture Hussein Al Hajj Hassan.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have recently jointed hands to give a boost to the development of internationalized domain names (IDNs) in Arabic according to a memorandum of understanding signed between both parties.