Press release
1 Dec 2017
Beirut, Lebanon
ESCWA Hosts Regional Discussions Next Week on Financing for Development
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCWA Executive Secretary, Mr. Mohamed Ali Alhakim will open the session on Monday at 9:30am, in the presence of the representative of Bahrain, who has presided the 11th Session.
Under this framework, a panel discussion on “Domestic Resource Mobilization by Curbing Illicit Financial Flows and Trade Misinvoicing” is held on Tuesday at 9:30am with the participation of high-level representatives from member States, and international and regional experts concerned with illicit financial flows and trade misinvoicing.
The twelfth session of the Committee aims to provide an intergovernmental forum for member States to discuss challenges and prospects facing the Arab region with respect to financing for development and the achievement of regional priorities. The discussion panel will provide a platform for dialogue between decision-makers and experts regarding the effects of illicit financial flows on the mobilization of domestic resources to implement the 2030 Agenda in the Arab region. The panel should build a foundation for developing a regional road map to tackle illicit financial flows and trade misinvoicing at the regional level, given that illicit financial flows require national and regional collaborative efforts.
Discussions will address the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda which was adopted by the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis Ababa, 13-16 July 2015) as a framework for financing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Committee will also review the actions taken by the ESCWA secretariat and member States to implement the recommendations it has made at its previous session and the work undertaken by the secretariat in the field of financing for development under the ESCWA programme of work, in addition to the proposed programme of work for the biennium 2018-2019 in the field of financing for development.
The Committee
ESCWA established the Committee in 1997, taking into account the importance of the participation of member States in the planning, development and monitoring of ESCWA programmes aimed at assisting countries in outlining appropriate national and regional economic development policies that enable them to take greater advantage of the international trends towards liberalization of foreign trade and economic globalization.
The ESCWA Communication and Information Unit (ECIU) kindly requests media representatives wishing to cover this meeting to confirm their attendance on the following numbers in order to facilitate their access: +96170827372 | +96170008879 | +96170079021
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For more information:
Nabil Abu-Dargham +961-70-99 31 44; email: dargham@un.org
Ms Rania Harb +961-70-008879; email: harb1@un.org
Ms Myrna Mahfouz: +961-70-872-372; email: mahfouz@un.org
Mr Haidar Fahs: +961-70-079-021; email: haydar.fahs@un.org
