Cairo, April 06 (QNA) - The fifteenth meeting of Arab National Points of Contact on the United Nations Programme of Action to Combat the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons commenced at the Arab League's General Secretariat on Monday.

The two-day meeting seeks to prepare for the 9th Meeting of the United Nations (UN) Programme of Action, to take place in New York in June.

It will consider the main themes to be reflected in the conference's draft outcome document and prepare a statement on behalf of the Arab Group to be delivered at the UN meeting, in line with relevant regional and international developments in this field. 

The meeting will also go over updates related to the joint Arab League-European Union project on "Combating Illicit Trafficking and Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Member States of the League of Arab States."

The joint project is being implemented in cooperation with partners including Interpol, the World Customs Organization, and the Small Arms Survey, with an estimated budget of EUR 13 million across its three phases (2019-2027). (QNA)