Held every two years, the Ministerial Session is the governing body of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). Ministers and high-level member State officials from across the region convene to discuss the activities of the Secretariat, its future work programme, and key economic and social development issues facing the region.

The 29th Ministerial Session of ESCWA is being held from 13 to 15 December 2016 in Doha, Qatar, on the theme: “2030 Agenda- Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the National Level”. The session will comprise two segments: the senior officials segment (13-14 December), and the ministerial segment (14-15 December).

Main theme and study:

As the world enters the post-2015 era, and member States of the United Nations start taking ownership of implementing the 2030 Agenda, the Arab region faces particularly daunting development and security challenges. However, as participants in shaping the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, Arab countries are adamant about seizing the opportunities provided by the Agenda to galvanize regional and global support to achieve much needed progress in their societies and economies. Central to this drive is the realization that a new approach to achieving development is needed, one that looks at challenges comprehensively and addresses them in a holistic and multi-layered manner. Hence ESCWA presents to its member states, during the 29th session, a flagship study on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda that attempts to shed light on the challenges of national implementation and ways to overcome them. Three Ministerial panel discussions examine approaches to implementation, covering respectively: (1) external and internal challenges member States are facing in implementing the 2030 Agenda, (2) the impact of conflict and occupation on implementing the 2030 Agenda, and (3) proposed tools, methods, and projects required to assist member States in achieving the seventeen goals.