“The pace of globalization is accelerating, and in turn both the challenges and opportunities facing our member countries are increasing,” said UNESCWA Deputy Executive Secretary Atif Kubursi. “The situation in the current round of WTO negotiations is critical and it is very important that our member countries are best prepared for the upcoming deliberations,” he said. Kubursi was speaking at the opening today of a three week training course at the UN House, Beirut, in cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In April 2002, delegates of 160 governments, intergovernmental institutions and NGOs came together at the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid, Spain, in order to revise the Vienna Plan on Ageing and establish a long-term strategy for aging populations.

The Assembly adopted a document entitled the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), which commits governments to integrate the rights and needs of older persons into national, as well as international, economic and social development policies.

Beirut, 28 September 2011 (UN Information Service) — ESCWA today opened a conference on “The Role of Green Industries in Promoting Socio-Economic Development in the Arab Countries” at the UN House in Beirut. The conference is held under the patronage of Lebanese Minister of Industry Freije Sabounjian, and is organized in cooperation with the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO).