Press release

Statistics, Asian Highway, Railway vital issues for discussion

Bangkok, United Nations Information Services (UNIS) - The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is currently holding its 56^th annual Commission Session June 1^st to 7^th at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand.

Development and partnership through globalization is the theme but there are other emerging issues being discussed. As part of a series of ESCAP Snapshots, please find below a few items of interest taken from ESCAP studies and reports.

Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway networks closer to completion

ESCAP has been pursuing for many decades the formulation of the Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway networks. These are nearing completion. says an ESCAP report. The emphasis now is shifting towards making the routes operational. Within its Asian land transport infrastructure development project, the Asian Highway network has been formulated for the whole of Asia with the exception of Bhutan, the Russian Federation and the Korean peninsula. The Trans-Asian Railway network reflects all major Intra-Asia and Asia-Europe land bridges.

The ESCAP Commission will discuss how to develop synergy with the other United Nations regional commissions, especially the Economic Commissions for Europe, Western Asia and Africa, in order to look at the development of interregional land and land-cum-sea routes between member countries of each Commission.

Governments need timely, relevant and high-quality official statistics

Pressure has mounted for effective and transparent dissemination of data to support informed decision-making and good governance, both domestically and externally, an ESCAP report states.

The financial and economic crisis that started in 1997 underlined the need for sound statistical data collection systems; not least to track the social dimensions of the turmoil.

Global conferences held under United Nations auspices have also generated a very significant demand for data to monitor their outcomes. The fact is inescapable that statistical capacities must be strengthened, especially in developing countries, if a start is to be made in meeting these burgeoning data requirements. The last few years of the twentieth century saw several developments that highlighted the importance of timely, relevant and high-quality official statistics.

Electronic or e-commerce is one of the important current statistical issues on the Commission's agenda. It has gained significant interest of policy makers, since in recent years the value and volume of good and services trade through the Internet have increased significantly. Experts agree that the measurement of transnational flows of good and services through e-commerce needs international standards and definitions.