Top UN officials praise Bahrain's achievements

New York, Sept. 25 (BNA): The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Wu Hongbo has lauded Bahrain’s efforts and landmark achievements, and its remarkable progress regarding sustainable development and public service. He affirmed he had been informed personally about the kingdom’s progress boom during his visit to it in 2013 to attend the United Nations Public Service Awards and Forum 2013, hosted by Bahrain under the auspices of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, adding that he is looking forward to visiting it other times. This came as Shaikh Hussam bin Isa Al Khalifa met him, alongside other top UN officials, on the sidelines of the ceremony to confer the Information and Communication Technology in Sustainable Development Award on His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). CEO of the e-Government Authority Mohammed Al-Qaed, Assistant Undersecretary for Press and Media Affairs at HRH the Prime Minister’s Court Khalid Al-Zayani, and the Transportation and Telecommunication Ministry’s Musa’ab Abdulla were also present. The UN DESA under-secretary extended sincere congratulations to HRH the Prime Minister for the prestigious ITU honour granted to him in recognition of the kingdom’s ICT strides, sustainable development achievements and support to development efforts at the regional and international arenas. Shaikh Hussam presented the top UN official with printed and electronic copies of the "Bahrain and United Nations over the Years" book. Wu Hongbo expressed sincere thanks and appreciation to the kingdom’s delegation for the book which, he said, is the fruitful outcome of the joint Bahrain-UN efforts, wishing the kingdom further progress and prosperity. The kingdom’s delegation also met Nikhil Seth, the UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and discussed with him UN-Bahrain cooperation regarding training and the organisation of joint forums and events. The delegation highlighted Bahrain’s interest in supporting the achievement of sustainable development goals through taking part in devising plans and programmes. They also discussed Bahrain’s preparations to host the ministerial conference on the 2030 sustainable development agenda in Arab countries, to be held under the patronage of HRH Premier on December 6-7, 2015. Nikhil Seth praised the kingdom’s development experience, hailing its success in achieving the millennium development goals as a result of ambitious programmes that focused on upgrading human resources, especially regarding education and training. He expressed full confidence in Bahrain’s success in hosting the ministerial conference on the 2030 sustainable development agenda in Arab countries, given its successful experience in hosting many UN events.