Beirut, 24 August 2021--The Arab region yesterday received $37.3 billion from the new allocation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of special drawing rights (SDRs), which amounted to $650 billion in total and is the largest in the institution’s history.

On 25 September 2014 United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Ms. Rima Khalaf, announced the appointment of Mr. Abdallah Al Dardari as her deputy. A national of Syria, Mr. Al Dardari, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Richmond – American International University of London (1985), a Master of Arts degree in International Economic Relations from the University of Southern California (1988).

ESCWA Regional Advisor on Environment and Water Ralf Klingbeil participated in the conference on “Social Water Studies in the MENA Region” on September 27th and 28th 2014 at the German Jordanian University (GJU) in Madaba, Jordan. ESCWA contributed to the conference through a panel discussion, a presentation, as well as supporting participating scientists from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

The Regional Commissions, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) recently launched a joint report entitled “Regional Perspectives on Sustainable Development” that contains a thorough analysis of the regional challenges and opportunities of sustainable development.