ESCWA's 23rd session held in Damascus
Regional-UN, Politics, 5/10/2005

Syria's Minister of Finance Mohammad al-Hussein underlined the urgent need for peace, stability and security in the region to achieve economic and social development.

In his address to the 23rd ministerial session of the United Nations Regional Economic and Social Commission in Western Asia (ESCWA) on Monday, the Minister said "The key of development in the region's states is just and comprehensive peace, a matter that Syria and all other states except Israel call for," pointing out that Israel evades peace requirements.

He also underscored that holding the conference in Damascus confirms Syria's faith in the social and economic sustainable development and in the UN role in sponsoring international cooperation and achieving peace in the world, particularly in the Arab states.

"Syria, since the beginning of the third millennium works vigorously on a development and modernization process which leads to achieve social justice and progress in Syria in all domains," the Minister added.

He also pointed out to the efforts being exerted to achieve progress through sustainable development and deepening cooperation with all friendly and sisterly countries as well as with the UN affiliated organizations.

The ESCWA Executive Secretary Mirvat Tillawi read the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's letter to the ministerial session in which he talked about instability and political tension in the region which affect the social, political and economic development.

Annan also stressed the importance of security, respect of human rights sovereignty of law to achieve development, asserting the necessity to invigorate the UN organizations to face work challenges.

Tillawi also delivered the ESCWA speech in which she said " despite the difficult circumstances in the region represented by Israeli occupation and the situation in Iraq, ESCWA managed to achieve progress in some domains such as improving the economic performance over 2003-2004 and increasing oil revenues as well as improving foreign trade records." She pointed out that the most important challenges facing the region is the weak local and foreign investments, weak inter-trade average, the absence of integrated social policies and the need to solve the issues related to population, asserting that despite these challenges, the region's states will achieve their targets.

"developing cooperation among states, achieving integration in the economic domains and variety of investment among the Arab states are the best means to secure stability in the societies," Tillawi added, stressing that ESCWA is working hard to boost regional integration and seeks to inspect and analyze the false stances taken by some foreign circles and research centers against the Arab region.

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