The meeting of the ESCWA Technical Committee on the Liberalization of Foreign Trade, Economic Globalization and Financing for Development recommended adoption of the amended Damascus Declaration on dealing with the global financial crisis in the region, and its submission to the 26th ESCWA session.
Participants in the sixth session of the Committee also recommended upholding ESCWA efforts and activities on external trade liberalization and financing for development, noting the need for cooperation on these levels. They also saw fit that the recommendations of the Doha conference on financing for development be streamlined into member countries' development plans to ensure their full implementation.
The conferees requested the inclusion of trade policy issues in future ESCWA work plans, and pursuing the single-window project that could facilitate trade and increase inter-trade exchange
ESCWA Executive Secretary, Bader AlDafa, had called at the opening of the meeting for strengthening inter-Arab trade and investments, the advancement of trade, and promotion of the private sector and investment to ward off repercussions of the global financial crisis and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Over two days, the Committee discussed the Damascus Declaration on the repercussions of the global financial crisis in the ESCWA region. It focused on the progress of member countries in this area and in the trade processes, as well as their repercussions on trade and economic performance in member countries. Participants also discussed member countries' progress in financing for development, namely the part concerning the Monterrey Consensus adopted by the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Mexico (March, 2001).
The meeting was held under the auspices of Lebanese Economy and Trade Minister Muhammad Safadi, represented by Rafif Berro, Chief of the Information Centre at the Ministry. The election of officers for the sixth session yielded the following results: Saudi Arabia's Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al Hayzan, chairman of the Session; Egypt's Walid Nabil Al Nazhi, and Yemen's Fadel Moqbel Mansour, vice-chairmen, Jordan's Muhammed Orsan Zohbi, rapporteur.
