Exchange Visit of Environmental Knowledge between Palestine and Tunisia under the Patronage of ESCWA Concludes with MoU

Under the patronage of ESCWA, a senior delegation from the Palestinian Ministry of Environmental Affairs visited the Tunisian Ministry of Environment from 22 to 26 April 2013, to have an insight on the Tunisian approach to environmental management and exchange information in this area. The visit concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), between both ministries at the headquarters of the Tunisian Ministry of Environment-Tunis, in the presence of ESCWA Sustainable Development and Productivity Division Director Roula Majdalani. The MoU stipulated the establishment of ties between both ministries to carry out common projects and benefit of international cooperation opportunities and technical assistance available in the framework of ties with donor countries and concerned international institutions. The cooperation programs agreed upon according to the MoU aim to exchange information and documents pertaining to the environment, sustainable development approaches, transformations towards green economy, and other issues in this regard. The visit had kicked off with a workshop on Monday 22 April 2013 at the Tunis International Centre for Environmental Technologies (CITET). Tunisian Minister of Environment Mohamed Salmane and ESCWA Regional Advisor on Environment and Water Klingbeil addressed the workshop participants. The agenda of the visit included field tours to relevant institutions and locations in Tunisia, which offered practical demonstrations on environmental governance; hazardous waste management; sustainable rural development and eco-tourism; waste and sewage treatment and links to aspects of sustainable energy production; and coastal zone management. Libya, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Tunisia became members of ESCWA in September 2012. By this new membership, the number of ESCWA countries rose to 17, including: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The Sudan, The Syrian Arab Republic, The United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Photo courtesy of Tunisian Ministry of Equipment and Environment