The preparatory meeting of senior officials for the 116th Ordinary Session of the Economic and Social Council was held on 2 September at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, under the chairmanship of the Republic of Tunisia, with the participation of the heads of delegations of the member states.
His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Maliki, Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Economic Affairs Sector, affirmed during the meeting the General Secretariat's commitment in the past period to following up on the implementation of the mandates entrusted to it under the resolutions of the recent Arab Economic and Social Development Summit, as well as the resolutions of the Economic and Social Council at its previous ordinary session (115).
The Council's agenda comprised more than 30 economic and social items, which had been studied by the Social and Economic Committees over the two days preceding the senior officials' meeting. Draft resolutions were subsequently prepared and submitted for endorsement by the ministers.
Among the most significant items were measures to encourage investment in Arab countries, promote inter-Arab trade, and support joint Arab labour organisations; consideration of the establishment of new ministerial councils and specialised entities necessitated by developments in the economic sector and modern technology; ways to support the Palestinian economy; reconstruction in certain Arab countries experiencing exceptional circumstances; the Second Arab Decade for Literacy and Lifelong Learning; a study on diversifying sources of financing for social security in Arab countries; the Arab Declaration for Tolerance and Peace; the Unified Arab Strategy for the Alliance of Civilisations; Arab-international cooperation in the social and development fields; and a review of the report and recommendations of the periodic meeting of the Arab Committee for Monitoring the Implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab Region.
