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Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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Date 26
April 2004
Press Release No: G/09/2004
Ministers meet in Shanghai for UNESCAP's 60th
Commission Session
NEW INIITIATIVES TO TACKLE STRAINS OF DEVELOPMENT
SHANGHAI (United Nations Information Services)
---Financing development, environmental sustainability and the
fight against HIV/AIDS are three challenges that need urgent
attention in the region, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annnan said
in his message to Ministers attending the sixtieth Session of
the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (UNESCAP) being held in Shanghai, China.
UNESCAP members were reminded by Secretary-General
Annnan that although much has been achieved economically, addressing
these matters would "bring into the circle of development
and peace the many millions of people in Asia and the Pacific
who have gone too long without, to the detriment of us all."
The strain of becoming an economic powerhouse
is evident in the region's shrinking forests, loss of biodiversity,
persistent haze, desertification, local and transboundary air
pollution and increase in human-induced disasters. The region
must give greater priority to environmental stewardship,"
said Mr Annnan in a message delivered by UNESCAP's Executive
Secretary Mr Kim Hak-Su.
"More than eight million people in your region
are now living with HIV/AIDS and the number is rising fast.
Left unchecked, the disease will not only devastate millions
of lives, it will also impose huge burdens on the region's health
systems and soak up resources that are badly needed for social
and economic development, Mr Annan said.
The Ministerial Segment of the Commission was
opened by H.E. Mr Zeng Qinghong, Vice President of the People's
Republic of China. He said that regional cooperation is an important
way to safeguard peace and common prosperity. This was one of
the four proposals that the Vice President recommended for "opening
a new dimension of peace and development for the region."
Others include strengthening mutual coordination for common
development, deepening regional cooperation, advocating harmony
and maintaining diversity of the world.
"We will unswervingly adhere to the central
task of economic development which is top priority, and resolve
all problems through development," H.E.. Mr Zeng said.
UNESCAP's Executive Secretary Mr Kim Hak-Su in
his opening statement said that UNESCAP's completion of a first
cycle of 60 sessions signified in Asian culture " the completion
of a cycle of life." But he added that this was an occasion
for UNESCAP to "undertake new initiatives to continuously
renew and revitalize its endevaours in order to meet the needs
of the region."
Citing the "Pacific Century" as one
in which the region will be the centre of economic growth and
technological innovation in the twentieth-first century, Mr
Kim also said that "the region's enormous size and diversity
will present social challenges on a commensurate scale, notably
in the form of its 1 billion poor, vulnerable and neglected
people."
The historic 60th Commission Session, being attended
by 30 ministers from members and associate members, has as its
theme topic: Meeting the Challenges in an Era of Globalization
by Strengthening Regional Development Cooperation.
For further information please contact:
Mr David Lazarus, Chief, UN Information Services
Information Officers: Ms Thawadi Pachariyangkun or Ms Margaret
Hanley
Office in Shanghai: Tel: 86-21-50370000 Ext 331
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