MANAMA — In preparation of the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) taking place on the Feb. 22-23, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Regional Office for West Asia convened a high-level meeting of senior officials from environment authorities, permanent representatives to UNEP, League of Arab States, Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Major Groups and Stakeholders. Representatives were briefed on the Medium-Term Strategy 2022-2025 of UNEP and road map to the United Nations Environment Assembly. Countries discussed environmental challenges in the region and priority regional actions to address them. The outcome of the meeting will guide UNEP Regional Office in aligning its work program in support of regional and countries’ priorities. “This medium-term strategy has been developed based on the latest science that confirms the convergence of climate, nature and pollution crises affecting the world"s ability to eradicate poverty, achieve the goals of sustainable development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, making the environmental agenda more important than ever,” stated Sami Dimassi, the regional director and representative of UNEP West Asia during his opening statement and on the strategic objectives for UNEP’s action on climate, nature and chemicals and pollution. “This is the second time that senior officials from West Asian countries and partners come together to debate environmental challenges, most of which are common across countries, facing the region and what actions are needed to address these challenges. “We were encouraged by the success achieved in the first West Asia Environment Ministerial Meeting held in August last year on the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the environment. Such progress in inter-governmental regional cooperation is welcome, and I am confident that we will see more of these meetings and interactions in the future” added Dimassi. UNEP West Asia re-committed it’s dedication to serve its member states through this Midterm Strategy, bringing about a transformative change towards sustainable development, enhancing climate resilience, living in harmony with nature and aspiring towards a planet free of pollution, contributing to a greener post-COVID recovery. — SG