Charles Arbid Chairman
of Economic Social Council

Will constitute a platform

for dialogue on economy

Charles Arbid, Chairman of the Lebanese Franchise Association, was today elected by acclamation the Chairman of The Economic and Social Council (ESC).

Saad Eddine Sakr has become the Vice Chairman, and Mohamad Choucair, Salah Osseiran, George Nesraoui, Youssef El-Bassam, Anis Bou Diab, Gretta Saab, and Bechara El-Asmar are members.

ESC’s office committee will meet on Friday to invite the General Assembly, which includes 71 members, in order to appoint the eight committees, and operations will start subsequently.

The eight committees are: General Economy, Productive Activities, Social, Labor and Health, Human Development and Education, Urban and Rural Development, Environment and Standardization, Foreign Affairs, and Information Technology.

Arbid said that this council will be named ‘The Council of Tomorrow’. “It will be a platform for all productive sectors to discuss social and economic issues and study them thoroughly. It will also be a place for dialogue, negotiation, and coming up with new ideas that can benefit the economy,” he said.

The ESOC’s duty is to advise the Government on economic and social projects. It includes representatives of most business and trade associations, professionals, and labor unions.

In October, the Cabinet appointed the 71 members of the ESOC, the mandate for which had expired more than 15 years ago.