Jordan: Arab ministers meet to activate coordination and cooperation among Arab countries

The preparatory meeting of the special session of the Council of Arab Ministers responsible for the environment and specialized in the preparation of the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and of the negotiations of the International Institute for Environment (IEA) began Wednesday in the Dead Sea region.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of the Environment, Ahmad Al-Qatarna, said that the conference will be held to activate coordination and cooperation between the Arab countries in the field of the environment, stressing that it will be held before the meeting of the # 39; General Assembly of the Environment in Nairobi, next March.

He added that the meetings will discuss many issues related to integrated waste management, sustainable consumption and sustainable production, and many issues to address in the field of the environment and sustainable development.

He went on to say that the decisions to be taken at the end of the meetings will be submitted to the presidency of the League of Arab States and will be used at the next meeting in Nairobi at the United Nations Environment Assembly, in order to provide support to the Arab countries that need financial and technical support.

He emphasized that Jordan's choice to hold these meetings is a message that shows the importance of Jordan's government and prestige and helps build Arab solidarity in the way everyone wants, emphasizing that there is a strong participation by all Arab countries.

For his part, the director and regional representative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Sami Damasi, West Asia, said that the meeting is part of the preparation and coordination of the positions of the Arab group for the fourth session of the United Nations Assembly on the Environment to be held in Nairobi in March with the slogan "Environment and production models for sustainable consumption", noting that this session will determine the work plan and the program budget up to 2021 and the priorities of international environmental action, as well as discussing draft decisions to be presented.

He stressed that the challenges facing the Arab region in the areas of environmental protection and efforts to achieve sustainable development, which form the basis of the work of the UN Environmental Program, require the ministers of the environment of all countries of the world to provide political and strategic guidance to the work of the program and to review and activate policies to address the challenges of the emerging environment Governments, stakeholders and non-governmental actors.

He stressed that the Office of Western Asia and the belief of the importance of the next session of the Assembly tried to take a different approach in the preparation of this session and the work was entrusted to ministers. of Arab Arab in their last meeting in Cairo to make every effort to hold the extraordinary session to ensure the strong and effective representation of the Arab Group at the fourth session of the Assembly and to stress the importance of the contribution The Arab group in shaping the global environmental agenda over the next two years and pushing the priorities and needs of the Arab countries on that agenda.

He expressed the hope that the meeting will focus on technical issues important to the Arab countries, which at the same time are related to the main theme of the Assembly and to the integration of the work of the Council on the one hand with the United Nations program on the environment from the other.

For its part, the Representative of the Secretary of the League of Arab States, Jamal Gaballah, thanked the Hascemite Kingdom of Jordan for hosting this special session under the patronage of Prime Minister Omar Al-Razzaz, noting that it is a special session and not ordinary, observing that she is only interested in the preparation of the meetings of the General Assembly for the Environment, (March) next.

He emphasized that today's meetings examined a range of topics, including food shortages and hot areas, as well as examining the issue of Palestine, emphasizing that there is a decision and an effort to prepare reports. on the environmental situation and the consequences of the war in Gaza, in addition to preparing reports on contaminated areas, indicating that a UN mission was sent to Palestine and there are efforts with the Palestinian side.

He underlined that the meetings have touched the course of the ministerial declaration that will be issued by the General Assembly of the Environment, underlining that there are several observations to be sent to the President of the next session of the General Assembly

The declaration will be discussed and the Arab position on some of the paragraphs that we do not consider appropriate to include in the ministerial declaration.

He stressed that draft resolutions to be presented by all the countries of the world and by regional groups will be reviewed, emphasizing that they have reached about 35 positions and we will have a vision on what will be supported and on what will be a reserve.

He emphasized the establishment of an exhibition in the margins of the Assembly meetings and the participation of the Arab sector, in particular, in addition to the role of Arab civil society to strengthen in the Arab orientation.

He stressed that the meetings will address the theme of the Arab Environment Fund, as well as the Arab Reservation Federation, as well as the modernization and development of the Arab Environment Council of Ministers.

The participants in the meeting discussed draft resolutions prepared by the technical committees to be presented at the meeting of the Arab environment ministers to be held on Thursday for discussion and adoption. The Ministers of the Environment of Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen , Iraq, Lebanon and Republic Sudan, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the State of Palestine, the Republic of Somalia, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Republic of Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman besides Jordan.