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4 Aug 2011

ESCWA holds Fifth Meeting of Technical Committee

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ESCWA Secretariat convened the fifth meeting of the Technical Committee at the UN House in Beirut on 6 and 7 April. Statements were delivered by Undersecretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf and by Chairman of the fifth session of the technical committee, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Saleh Al-Kharabsheh. Khalaf commended the role of the Committee in setting priorities for ESCWA work programmes and in implementing its activities in line with development needs of member countries. She emphasized that countries of the region today aspire for progress and development amid socio-economic challenges arising from current political situations and long-standing regional conflicts. “This compels us to join efforts in reviewing development programmes and concepts, and reconsidering priorities and implementation mechanisms of such programmes to enable countries of the region to motivate youth towards maximizing their capacities,” she added. According to Khalaf, ESCWA Secretariat has decided to add an item to the schedule of the Committee that explores the views of member countries’ representatives on the work of ESCWA, with a focus on success stories and points of strength, in addition to areas requiring improvement and increased effectiveness. In his statement, Al-Kharabsheh said the meeting has a special significance in these eventful times and the many changes unfolding in the region. He added that this leads us to seriously consider a new development approach to upgrade economic systems and help youth play their role in the development process by providing them with high-quality education and training and with knowledge economy skills. ESCWA plays a major role in providing technical support to its member countries, he said. It seeks to implement big projects with regional impact in areas of energy, water and transport. It also focuses on building the capacities of local and rural communities to implement small and medium-size projects that create job opportunities at a time when governments are unable to expand the public sector. Kharabsheh pointed out that Jordan was looking forward for member countries to joining ESCWA Technology Centre in Jordan and to transforming it into a vital platform in promoting, spreading and developing knowledge and innovation in this crucial and fundamental field for development. The meeting tackled key issues related to the future work of ESCWA, such as the results of evaluation of the intergovernmental mechanism of ESCWA and its subsidiary bodies, as well as the proposed programme of work for the biennium 2012-2013. It also addressed salient regional and global priorities, including good governance during conflicts and associated crises, regional preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20), in addition to the main activities carried out by ESCWA in the past several months.
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