The West Asia Regional Preparatory meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) took place at the League of Arab States headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on 24 October 2001.

Ten North African and 12 Middle Eastern countries make up the Arab Region, referred to by the UN as the West Asia Region. The regional meeting was attended by approximately 140 government delegates and observers, including NGO representatives and international organizations.
Prior to the meeting, the Joint Committee on Environment and Development in the Arab Region (JCEDAR) met in a two-day special session on Sunday and Monday, 21-22 October, while the Bureau of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment met on Tuesday, 23 October, and the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) met on Wednesday morning, 24 October. Following these meetings that were held to develop and discuss the WSSD Progress Assessment Report for the Arab Region, the Arab Declaration to the WSSD, and the Arab Address, a formal half-day Plenary was convened on Wednesday evening, 24 October, for presentation and adoption of the documents. Discussion was limited, as most issues had been resolved in the three days leading up to the Regional Preparatory meeting. Key regional issues emerging from the Cairo meetings include peace and security, poverty, debt, water management and the need for integration across sectors and political levels.
The West Asia Preparatory meeting was the shortest of the four regional meetings held so far in preparation for the WSSD. It convened for less than four hours, instead of the two days scheduled. While participants considered the meeting’s outcomes balanced and comprehensive, a lingering challenge is how the Region will ensure its outputs are integrated at different levels. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin report outlining these discussions in detail can be found at: http://enb.iisd.org/2002/wswas/