UN-GGIM

The Meeting of the UN-GGIM for the Arab States took place in Amman, Jordan, from 5-6 February 2014. The meeting was organized by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), in collaboration with the Royal Jordanian Geographic Centre. This meeting was a follow up to the first meeting that took place in Doha, Qatar on 7th February 2013. The objective of this meeting was to share national experiences of the countries in the region in the use of geospatial information and the building of national geospatial infrastructures. Most importantly the meeting facilitated the discussions regarding the process of the establishment of the UN-GGIM for the Arab States, and the preparation of the Regional Committee on GGIM mission and functions, its statutes and a work programme for 2014 and beyond.

The meeting was attended by 33 participants of whom 24 were from the following 13 countries in the region: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Oman, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syria and Tunisia, two UN officials, the Co-Chair of UN-GGIM and two members from the Regional Committees of Asia and the Pacific and Europe.

Participants identified and proposed a set of recommendations to improve geospatial information development at national and regional levels:

a Transitional Bureau should be formed

form two working groups are to be created and

The working groups will work on the status and the work programme