Press release

13 Oct 2008

Beirut

Executive Secretary Opens Advisory Committee Meeting, Says Recent Developments Helped Restore Commission’s Activities

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UN-ESCWA Executive Secretary Badr Omar AlDafa said on Monday positive developments that took place in Lebanon since May, “helped in restoring our activities in the state of UN-ESCWA headquarters because meetings, conferences, seminars and other activities that used to exceed 100, had stopped or been transferred to other countries because of the security situation”. AlDafa made his remarks at the opening of the UN-ESCWA Advisory Committee meeting at the UN-House, Riad El-Solh Square. Chiefs of diplomatic missions of the Regional Commission’s member countries participated in the meeting. AlDafa said in his statement that Beirut is the permanent headquarters of UN-ESCWA, in response to reports about relocating the Commission. “However, the economic and social developmental work that we do in Lebanon and the region require political and security stability to be comprehensive and sustainable,” AlDafa said. He added that the recent visit by UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro to Lebanon reflected the international organization’s support to Lebanon. The Executive Secretary welcomed Sudan’s membership in UN-ESCWA, saying that this step strengthens the Commission’s position as a regional arm for the UN and a forum for concerned expertise. For his part, Sudan’s Ambassador Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim replied to AlDafa’s remarks and thanked UN-ESCWA for its continuous support. “Sudan is not strange to the UN; hence, it is one of the founders of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA),” Ibrahim said. He added that Sudan has been receiving support from UN-ESCWA for the past three years, and its membership in the Commission is natural after taking a step that puts Sudan closer to Arab economic integration and Arab unity. The Advisory Committee meeting discussed the results of the 25th Ministerial Session of UN-ESCWA that was held between 26 and 29 May in Sana’a and those of the Regional Coordination Mechanism meeting that was held on 13-14 September in Beirut. The meeting also discussed the major activities that will be implemented until the end of 2008, the UN-ESCWA Subsidiary Committees, the ongoing preparations for UN-ESCWA’s working plan for years 2010 and 2011, including the budget. The meeting also tackled the official visits by the Executive Secretary to Member States that will include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria and Sudan before the year end.
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