(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BEIRUT, Feb 8 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) will continue encouraging pan-Arab cooperation aimed at ensuring "stability, prosperity and all-inclusive growth," its newly-appointed executive secretary has said.
Rola Dashti of Kuwait, also the United Nations Under-Secretary-General, arrived in Beirut on Thursday to assume her new position at the helm of the regional commission.
She succeeds Mohamed Al-Hakim of Iraq, after being handed the role by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in late January.
Dashti said ESCWA would work to promote "peace, justice, (and) citizenship," back efforts for UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adoption and support youth.
She also praised Lebanon on its decision to pick four women amongst its newly-formed Cabinet, including the milestone of choosing the first-ever Arab female interior minister.
This "showcases the Lebanese belief in the historical role of women in maintaining balanced and sustainable development," she remarked.
ESCWA describes the former Kuwaiti lawmaker and minister as a leading economist and long-time champion of women's rights and gender equality.
"Dashti played a pivotal role in advocating for the decree to allow Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary elections, and in May 2009, she with three other women became the first women to be elected to Kuwait's parliament," added the regional UN department. (end) ayb.sd
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