On Monday, January 9, 2023, Professor Sidi Mohammed Bouchenak Khelladi, President of the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council, chaired a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions. The meeting was held by videoconference at the Council’s headquarters.
The meeting was attended by the following members of the Union's Board of Directors :
- Mr. Musa Ayoub Shteiwi, President of the Economic and Social Council of Jordan and Vice-President of the Union,
- Mr. Hassan Shahata, Minister of Manpower of Egypt,
- Mr. Ahmed Majdalani, President of the Economic and Social Council of Palestine,
- Mr. Charles Arbid, President of the Economic and Social Council of Lebanon,
- Mr. Mohamed Abdallah Essayam, Vice-President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of Mauritania,
- Mr. Khallil Ben Sami, representing the President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council of Morocco.
Additionally, the meeting was attended by Mr. Fayez El-Matiri, Director General of the Arab Labour Organization (ALO), the sponsoring organization of the Union, and Mr. Mohamed Amine Djaafri, Secretary General of the Union.
Following the opening address by President of the Union, Professor Sidi Mohammed Bouchenak Khelladi, and by the Director General of the Arab Labour Organization, Mr. Fayez El-Matiri, the Board of Directors reviewed the items on the agenda, which included: the presentation and review of a document titled "Towards Water, Energy and Food Security in the Arab World", the proposed designs for the Union's new logo and website, and the official establishment of the committee responsible for revising the Union’s Statutes.
Regarding the document "Towards Water, Energy and Food Security in the Arab World," it is recalled that during the last General Assembly held in Algiers in June 2022, a strategic roadmap for the 2022–2025 period was adopted around the key theme of "Economic Sovereignty and Sustainable Development." This theme focuses on three core pillars: water security, energy security and food security. This focus directly addresses the current concerning situation in the Arab world, which requires urgent, comprehensive and concerted action. Water, food and energy are deeply interconnected resources and challenges. Faced with rising demand driven by population growth, the primary objective is to ensure sustainable, adequate and equitable access to these resources. The participants adopted an approach that addresses each issue individually while highlighting their mutual interlinkages. The three portfolios were assigned to distinct working groups: Jordan committed to leading the water security portfolio, Algeria volunteered to lead the energy security portfolio and Egypt was entrusted with managing the food security portfolio.
Two draft projects initiated by the Algerian National Economic, Social and Environmental Council were presented to the board members for discussion and refinement: the proposed website, which is user‑friendly, dynamic, content‑rich and easy to navigate; and the proposed logo, whose design incorporates elements representing the Union's core values: Dialogue, Development and Unity. The board members unanimously praised the Algerian Council's initiative and commended the high quality of the presented work.
The meeting marked the official establishment of the committee tasked with revising the Union's Statutes. Chaired by Egypt, the committee comprises representatives from the economic and social councils of Palestine, Jordan, Algeria, Mauritania, Lebanon and Morocco. Its primary mission is to draft a new set of statutes for the Union.
The board members warmly welcomed the proposal made by the Vice-President of the Union and President of the Economic and Social Council of Jordan, Mr. Musa Ayoub Shteiwi, to host the Union's next General Assembly in Jordan.
As a reminder, the Union of Arab Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions is a regional organization that aims to promote, expand and sustain a culture of dialogue in all its forms and at all levels. It encourages Arab nations to establish economic and social councils to strengthen participatory democracy and achieve social peace and stability. Algeria has held the presidency of the Union since June 2022 and has hosted its General Secretariat since 2015.