BEIRUT, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Rola Dashti, the newly appointed executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said Wednesday that ESCWA will launch programs aimed at creating job opportunities for the youth in Lebanon, local media reported.

"We will focus on projects that create job opportunities for the youth in Lebanon especially that unemployment rate in the country has reached 30 percent which is among the highest rates in the world," Dashti was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

Dashti's remarks came during her meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace to discuss ways of cooperation between Lebanon and ESCWA on the economic and social levels.

Dashti added that ESCWA aims at opening new horizons for the youth in Lebanon and in the region to protect the middle class which will guarantee stability in these countries.

Dashti was appointed late last month by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as ESCWA's executive secretary, succeeding Mohamed Ali Alhakim of Iraq.