Beirut, 21 July 2026--Dr Rania Al-Mashat, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), paid a courtesy visit to Secretary-General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Nabil Fahmy at the LAS Headquarters in Cairo, to wish him well upon assuming office.
Al-Mashat commended Fahmy's vision to advance joint Arab action through reforming LAS institutions, promoting economic integration, and placing development and people at the heart of priorities, hoping to launch a new phase of cooperation between the two organizations, based on a shared vision for the future of the region, particularly amid rapid regional and international transformations.
Arab Vision 2045 for the future of the Arab region
Al-Mashat stressed that the adoption of the Arab Vision 2045 for the future of the region, developed through cooperation between ESCWA and LAS and endorsed by the Arab Summit held in Baghdad in May 2025, represented a significant achievement in the journey of joint Arab action. She described it as a framework for cooperation over the next two decades aimed at achieving integrated development across the Arab countries, while emphasizing the importance of moving to the implementation phase to ensure that the Vision would translate into tangible results.
Coordination in international forums
She underscored the importance of coordination between the two sides to present Arab priorities more cohesively in international forums, particularly in the fields of sustainable development, social policies, development financing, climate action, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and global governance reform. She added that strengthening the Arab presence in international discussions required complementarity between LAS, which represents 22 Arab countries, and the technical and analytical expertise provided by ESCWA.
In a related context, ESCWA Executive Secretary briefed LAS Secretary-General on the ongoing reform process within the United Nations system through the UN80 Initiative, which supports transformation within the multilateral system. She noted that these changes reaffirmed the role of regional organizations and pinpointed the added value that the Arab region could bring to the international multilateral system.
Modernizing the UN System
Al-Mashat also highlighted the UN 2.0 agenda, which reflects the United Nations Secretary-General's vision for modernization aimed at accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and updating traditional working methods through investment in data, innovation, digitalization, foresight, and behavioural sciences.
She welcomed the vision presented by LAS Secretary-General on preventive diplomacy as a key pillar of Arab action in the upcoming period. She stressed that prevention required investment in strategic foresight, early warning systems, and risk analysis before challenges develop into crises. She expressed the readiness of ESCWA to cooperate in developing tools that would help decision-makers address future challenges proactively.
Arab integration
Al-Mashat underlined further that Arab economic integration was one of the principal drivers of stability, growth, and competitiveness. She noted that achieving this required building on existing efforts in various regional connectivity initiatives in a manner consistent with global economic transformations.
The future of digital development and artificial intelligence
Al-Mashat explained that the Arab region was entering a new global era and had a unique opportunity to shape the future of digital development and artificial intelligence. She noted that the partnership between ESCWA and LAS contributed to formulating the Arab position and helping shape this emerging phase. Consequently, the time is now to move together from shaping the global agenda to translating it regionally through the Arab Digital Agenda 2023-2033, which serves as the comprehensive framework endorsed by Arab leaders and was designed and drafted by ESCWA in collaboration with representatives of member States and within the framework of LAS mechanisms.
She added that the Arab Digital Agenda, together with the Arab Digital Development Report and the Digital Cooperation and Development Forum (DCDF), formed an integrated system for supporting policymaking, measuring progress, building consensus, and strengthening implementation at both the regional and national levels. She further noted that ESCWA looked forward to a more advanced phase of cooperation with LAS, which reflected global developments, particularly the artificial intelligence revolution, and responded to the needs of Arab countries.
Future steps
The meeting concluded with both sides affirming that the next phase required close coordination and complementarity of roles. ESCWA and LAS will work jointly to provide comprehensive support to Arab countries and strengthen joint Arab action, thereby contributing to a more influential Arab voice in the development of global policies.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to continued coordination and cooperation through shared regional platforms, notably the DCDF, as well as preparations for the AI Forward Summit, in support of global development pathways and rapid technological transformations.
