Beirut-Dubai, 30 April 2013 (Information and Communication Unit)— “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Technical Cooperation Workshop” opened today in Dubai, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Ministry of Economy at the UAE. In his opening remarks, ESCWA Director of the Planning, Partnerships and Technical Cooperation Division Roberto Laurenti, expressed the Commission’s gratitude to the Assistant Under-Secretary-General at the Emirati Ministry of Economy, Mr. Mohamad Saleh Shalwah for his full support in holding this meeting.

ESCWA through its Regional Advisor Environment and Water, Dr. Ralf Klingbeil, assisted Bahrain during a mission in November 2012 in its efforts for improving national water demand management. Upon request from the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) Mr. Klingbeil visited Bahrain in November 2012 to review national policies and practices in rationalizing water consumption.

ESCWA Regional Advisor for the National Accounts Omar Hakouz visited the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) in Kuwait in April of 2012. During his two-week visit, Hakouz trained the staff of National Accounts Department to review their database on national accounts and publish the compilation in accordance with international dissemination standards. On his last day, the Department held a workshop on “Requirements for Improving the Rules of National Accounts Data.”