Committee on Liberalization of Foreign trade, Economic Globalization and Financing for Development, 11th session (Focus on Trade)

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) convened the 11th session for its Committee on Liberalization of Foreign trade, Economic Globalization and Financing for Development on 27 and 28 November 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon.

The session opened on 27 November 2017 and focus on Trade and Agenda 2030. The session meetings commenced with a review of the progress made in foreign trade liberalization , the implementation of the recommendations made by the committee since its tenth session, as well as activities related to foreign trade within the framework of ESCWA's work program and technical cooperation activities in the field of trade (2016-2017).

In addition, a number of technical papers were presented on: the role of transport and its connectivity to Global Value Chains, Trade and sustainable development goals, Implementation of trade liberalization measures in the Arab region, The cost of Non Arab-African integration, Progress in the process of establishing an Arab Customs Union, The role of trade in economic transformation policies: the case of Jordan, Mega trends in international trade agreements and their implications on Arab States. The meetings also included a Panel discussion on Arab Regional Integration: Between Regionalism and multilateralism. Member States had finally the opportunity to examine the proposed ESCWA work program for the biennium 2018-2019 in the field of trade liberalization.