ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR WESTERN ASIA OPENS TWENTIETH MINISTERIAL SESSION
Press Release
REC/56
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR WESTERN ASIA OPENS TWENTIETH MINISTERIAL SESSION
19990601 (Reissued as received.)BEIRUT 27 May (UN Information Centre) -- The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) opened its twentieth ministerial session this morning at 9;30 a.m. at the United Nations House, Beirut, under the patronage of President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon. The session coincides with the Commission's twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations.
The two-day meeting was opened by Prime Minister Salim El-Hoss and attended by a number of important Arab dignitaries, including: Elias Hrawi, the former Lebanese President; Rashid Solh and Amin El-Hafez, former Lebanese Prime Ministers; as well as high-ranking government officials, representatives of the 13 ESCWA Member States, members of the Lebanese parliament, heads of the other four regional Commissions (Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)), and representatives of United Nations agencies.
The meeting was also attended by Mohamed Asfour, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Jordan; Sheikh Hamid Al-Muallah, Minister of Planning, United Arab Emirates; Abdelnabi Al-Shu'la, Minister of Labour, Bahrain; Abdelrahim Al-Subeii, Minister of Planning, Syria; Hassan Abdelmuneim Al-Khatab, Director of Planning, Iraq; Mohamed Ben Nasser Al-Khusseibi, Secretary General, Ministry of National Economy, Oman; Farouk Al-Kaddoumi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Palestine; Ahmed Ben Abdallah Al Mahmoud, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Qatar; Ali Moussa Al-Moussa, Minister of Planning and Minister of State for Administrative Development, Kuwait; Nasser Al-Saidi, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Lebanon; Said Al Masri, Deputy Foreign Minister of Egypt; Nizar Ben Oubeid Madani, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia; and Ahmed Soufan, Minister of Development and Planning, Yemen. They will discuss programmatic issues and evaluate the activities of ESCWA Secretariat.
In an opening statement, Prime Minister Hoss expressed support to ESCWA as "our regional United Nations organization that aims at strengthening the
economic and social cooperation among the countries of Western Asia. The ESCWA is the most adequate forum where our States could elaborate a vision for the future of our region that would meet our expectations. He welcomed Arab dignitaries and the distinguished guests gathered in Lebanon and at United Nations House. "Lebanon would not be Lebanon were it not in service to the region", he noted. "That has been its history and it will be its future."
The necessary and frequent relocations of ESCWA, first to Baghdad, then to Jordan and now back to Beirut, is a reflection of the turmoil of this region, continued the Prime Minister, a region which has been characterized by hope and optimism alongside frustration and decline. It is a region which has experienced peace, but also regional and civil wars. All the while the world has been experiencing other changes: the technological revolution has ushered in an era where obstacles have been removed and the collapse of the Berlin wall was the equivalent of the collapse of an ideological war, which had faced off the socialism of the East against the capitalism of the West.
The world today is a global village, remarked Mr. Hoss, or more appropriately an express train and those left behind are forgotten. "Today's world is a crueller one that has no room for the weak or the spectator." But, it was not the "time to cry over spilt milk." Rather, it was a time to prepare for a new future based on creativity and innovation. Although the lessons of the past were essential and must be considered, it was time to look ahead and begin preparing so that "we can enter this new world more capable and better prepared". With a new economic order emerging, we need to keep abreast of the international scene and participate with thought and planning. He called upon ESCWA to play a key role in that regard.
United Nations Special Envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, who delivered a statement on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, praised and congratulated ESCWA on its return to "this beautiful and memorable city". He reiterated the Secretary-General's feelings that the twentieth session was also a celebration and a housewarming. "I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Government of Lebanon for providing ESCWA with such a magnificent new home. This building, which so eloquently combines beauty and functionality, has also given life to the concept of the United Nations family living together in a United Nations house", observed Mr. Annan.
The Secretary-General reminded the distinguished guests that ESCWA was first and foremost an impartial body, which, while promoting the universal values espoused by the United Nations, was "uniquely qualified" to help meet emerging regional and geo-economic challenges. That unique status allows it to complement other regional groupings, while addressing the shared geo-economic concerns of all States in the region", he noted.
- 3 - Press Release REC/56 1 June 1999
Speaking of the wider United Nations role, Mr. Annan reiterated the international body's commitment, particularly to peace and security. "The continued presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon also bears witness to the continuity of our cause. Security Council resolutions 242, (1967), 338 (1973), and 425 (1978) remain the framework for our efforts towards peace", he stressed.
Mr. Annan praised the efforts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in its efforts to help the plight of the Palestinians despite its difficult financial situation, and took the opportunity to appeal for generous pledges. On a closing note, the Secretary-General recalled the importance of economic interests in the pursuit of peace and development, particularly in a region that has been riddled with war, conflict and destruction for so long. "We are now at long last on the threshold of a new era, an era of cooperation, construction and development that should benefit all people in the Middle East."
The ESCWA Executive Secretary Hazem El-Beblawi remarked that the meetings were also coinciding with "a special occasion", ESCWA's twenty-fifth anniversary. "Now that ESCWA has come back to its permanent home, let us hope that this return augurs the return of peace and security to the region, so that it may once again pursue its course of building and giving."
Mr. Beblawi noted that the meeting came at a significant point as the world was preparing to usher in a new century and millennium. It was time to leave behind an era plagued by numerous crises -- food, energy, inflation and debt -- as well as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the cold war. In parallel, however, the world was also undergoing a technological revolution, accompanied by the inevitable forces of globalization. "Globalization, for better or for worse, is imposing a new reality abounding in unprecedented possibilities and opportunities and fraught with unfamiliar dangers and challenges", said Mr. Beblawi.
On a regional note, the ESCWA Executive-Secretary lamented the anxiety, instability and turmoil that the Middle East has experienced over the past 25 years, but which should now be left in the past. So, he said, as ESCWA celebrates its silver jubilee, it was the ideal opportunity to "turn over a page replete with lessons and admonitions and open a new page filled with hope, in order that together we may lay solid foundations of a region of economic cooperation and social tranquillity in an atmosphere of peace and stability".
During the ensuing closing session of the heads of delegations of the 13 member States of ESCWA, which began at 11:30 a.m., Nasser Al-Saidi, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Lebanon, was elected as Chairman. The Committee also elected Sheikh Hamid Al-Muallah, Ministry of Planning, United Arab
- 4 - Press Release REC/56 1 June 1999
Emirates, and Abdelrahim Al-Subeii, Minister of Planning, Syria, as Vice-chairmen. Farouk Al-Kaddoumi, Foreign Minister of Palestine, was elected Rapporteur.
After the adoption of the agenda, with minor changes, Mr. Beblawi presented the report of the Technical Committee's eleventh session for discussion and adoption. The report, which reviews the progress made during 1998 in the implementation of the programme of work for the biennium 1998-1999, put forth a number of resolutions which were also submitted to the Committee for adoption.
The report included ESCWA's activities in managing natural resources and the environment, encouraging equal efforts towards economic and social development, including poverty alleviation, implementing local community development projects, establishing national human development networks, the setting up of networks to follow up recommendations of global conferences, providing national and regional institutions support in setting standards and norms, enhancing regional coordination and cooperation, and providing data on the developments in various fields, including agriculture, industry, transport and technology.
The Technical Committee's report, noted Mr. Beblawi, includes a recommendation that the name of the Committee be changed from Technical to Preparatory. The Committee adopted all resolutions.
Discussion then turned to the comprehensive study undertaken by ESCWA on trade efficiency by member States. Among the objectives of the study was to outline the benefits of improving trade practices, the consequences of stagnation and restrictive trade practices, and suggesting the means of achieving better trade efficiency, so that member countries could better participate in world markets.
On the item concerning the relocation of ESCWA to its permanent headquarters in Beirut, Mr. Beblawi reiterated the Commission's thanks to Member States that helped finance the move and to those that had hosted the organization when it left Beirut.
* *** *