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CAIRO, June 19 (KUNA) -- Arab nations will have a unified goal at the the
Rio+20 Earth Summit aimed at locally enabling the 'green economy' as a
stepping stone for sustainable development, an Arab official said here Tuesday.
The goal was asserted in a decleration during a meeting of Arab ministers
tasked with the enironment, Arab League Assistant Secretary General for
Economic Affairs Dr. Mohammad Al-Tuweijri told reporters.
"This summit aims at spot on change in its agenda of sustainable
development," he said.
The UN Agenda 21 on sustainable development, to be discussed during the
gathering, will rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure
environmental protection.
"Rio+20 comes three years before the deadline of fulfilling the UN
Millennium Development Goals, which calls for more efforts to be wielded in
this regard," Al-Tuweijri said, noting that "this summit also comes amidst
global incompetence of limiting consequences of climate change and its impact
on both development and environment."
The summit will be held in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro between June 20-22,
marking the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
"The event is of major importance to Arabs, with the 'Arab Spring' wave of
bringing social equality and deep-seating principles of sustainable
development in Arab countries," he said.
Over 130 world leaders are expected to attend Rio+20, in addition to
thousands of business executives, mayors, civil society groups, youth and
indigenous peoples. (end)
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