UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan led a forum in Vienna last week attended by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei and other heads of UN agencies, funds, and programmes. The sessions of the Chief Executives Board (CEB) are convened twice a year.
The CEB is the forum at which executive heads of all organizations examine ways for further coordination and cooperation on the whole range of substantive and management issues facing the United Nations system. It includes the IAEA and 27 other member organizations, as well as the World Tourism Organization and the Bretton Woods institutions.
The meetings included sessions in Vienna, where Dr. ElBaradei hosted a gathering, and in Baden, where the group held private discussions and attended events hosted by Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
The group's priority themes include strategies and financing for sustainable development; strengthening system-wide support for sustainable development of Africa, focusing on the New Partnership for Africa's Development; review of the work of the High-Level Committees management and programmes; and security and safety of staff.