The High-Level Expert Group Meeting on "Moving the Development Agenda Forward: Opportunities and Potential Gains" will be held on 5-6 November 2009 at the United Nations House in Beirut with the aim of consulting the views of distinguished experts, intellectuals and officials on the diverse social and economic challenges at the global and regional levels, as well as the opportunities that are to be grasped to move forward on the development agenda. The deliberations of the meeting will ultimately contribute to identifying principal focus areas to be tackled by ESCWA, in line with the main concerns of member states, as well as the key issues on the agenda of the United Nations, and as such is expected to guide the work of ESCWA during the years 2012-2013.  

The EGM will focus on the following themes:

a.  Climate Change and  sustainable management of natural resources;

b.  Youth bulge, employment and investment;

c.  Regional integration for socioeconomic development.

Each session will be dedicated to a specific theme where a discussion paper shall be presented by a renowned expert, followed by a general open debate initiated by leading discussants on the subjects being tackled.