UN-ESCWA will be holding its 25th Ministerial Session in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a between 26 and 29 May 2008 under the auspices of Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh.
Under the theme, "Financing for Development in the ESCWA region", the Ministerial Session will be held at the Movenpick Hotel and will be divided in two segments: the technical and the ministerial segments.
The technical segment, set to kick off on Monday 26 May will gather senior officials of each of the 13 member countries of UN-ESCWA. While the ministerial segment will be inaugurated on Wednesday 28 May and will be attended by heads of delegations present at the meeting.
Held every two years, the Session is considered the main governing body of the Commission, which decides on its policy. It will gather a quorum of representatives of the 13 member countries of UN-ESCWA, at the ministerial level, senior officials and prominent persons from the host country (Yemen), as well as embassies accredited to Yemen. Representatives of UN agencies; States Members of the UN that are not members of the Commission; governmental and non-governmental organizations; donor agencies and funding institutions; regional experts, and academia and national media institutions, in addition to regional and international media agencies accredited in Yemen will also participate in the Session.
Following the opening ceremony on Monday the Session's office is expected to be elected which will be chaired by Yemen in its capacity as host country.
Significant events will be marking the Ministerial segment, including the adoption and signature of the Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods in the Arab Mashreq. Ministerial roundtables are also organized on, "Financing for development in the ESCWA region"; "Regional cooperation for achieving the Millennium Development Goals"; and "Economic and social development in Yemen".
As for the technical segment of the Session it will discuss the Report of the Executive Secretary on the Activities of the Commission for the Biennium 2006-2007, in addition to the Follow-up to the Implementation of the Resolutions Adopted by the Commission at its Twenty-fourth Session and several other issues.
Other events will be held on the sidelines of the Session and they include the launching of the Information Society Portal for the ESCWA Region/ISPER, two promotional exhibitions on Yemen and ESCWA, the launching of a report entitled: "Millennium Development Goals in the Arab region 2007: A Youth Lens".
The Yemeni government will also organize a traditional night, to illustrate the main cultural and artistic features of the diverse Yemeni heritage.
