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Press
Release..............................
UNESCAP News Services
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Date 26
April 2004
Press Release No: L/20/2004
Policy Statement by the
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Mr. Chairmain, Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour and a privilege for me to welcome
you to the Ministerial Segment of the sixtieth session in Shanghai.
The magnificent city of Shanghai embodies the energy of the
Asia-Pacific region and its achievements are a model to emulate.
I should therefore like to express, at the very outset, my sincere
gratitude to the Government and people of the People's Republic
of China and to the Shanghai Municipal People's Government for
hosting this session.
Mr. Chairman,
2003 was another good year for the region, characterized by
strong GDP growth and low inflation. ESCAP developing countries
as a group grew faster in 2003 than the global economy as well
as other groups of developing countries. Moreover, growth is
becoming more autonomous, driven increasingly by forces within
the region, such as intraregional trade and strong domestic
demand.
Despite the region's robust economic growth in recent years,
poverty remains a significant challenge for many countries in
the region. It is crucial that well-designed strategies for
poverty reduction are put in place and more explicitly aligned
with the MDGs.
Mr. Chairman,
This year's theme study on "Meeting the challenges in an
era of globalization by strengthening regional development cooperation"
examines the different forms of cooperation existing in the
region in the areas of trade, transport, ICT and finance. Broadly
speaking, the study concludes that cooperation in the fields
of trade and transport should seek to harmonize the somewhat
fragmented nature of existing initiatives and to bring to fruition
the long-standing proposals relating to the Asian Highway network
and the Trans-Asian Railway. In the fields of ICT and finance,
the study recommends building an Asia-Pacific information society
and having a regional road map for establishing more efficient
financial markets.
Mr. Chairman,
The secretariat continues to focus attention on
its three thematic mandates. Under the theme of poverty reduction,
the key focus has been on assisting Governments in achieving
the Millennium Development Goals. Work on the second phase of
the joint ESCAP-UNDP project "Supporting the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific"
has begun focusing on a range of issues including how micro-level
initiatives can contribute to the achievement of the MDGs. A
regional action plan for improving poverty statistics and monitoring
is being implemented, especially to mainstream the concerns
of the least developed countries.
As regional initiatives responding to the UN Secretary-General's
Global Compact, we successfully concluded the inaugural sessions
of Asia-Pacific Business Forum and ESCAP Business Advisory Group,
in conjunction with this 60th session of the Commission in Shanghai.
Over 200 prominent business leaders from the region participated
in the inaugural meetings of yesterday to discuss the emerging
trade and investment opportunities in the region and to establish
sustainable mechanisms to engage the private sector at the institutional
level in order to enhance the impact of ESCAP's work in the
region. The meetings recommended ESCAP to continuously foster
those initiatives and to report the outcomes and findings to
the Commission regularly.
Mr. Chairman,
Together with the fastest economic growth in the world, the
Asian and Pacific region is beset by daunting environmental
problems. The Phnom Penh Regional Platform on Sustainable Development
for Asia and the Pacific reflects the region's priorities for
pursuing development on a more sustainable basis and is consistent
with the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. ESCAP is now preparing
for the fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development
in March 2005, which will identify concrete measures to address
the many challenges to sustainable development.
In the area of transport, I am very pleased to
inform you that several milestones have been achieved since
the Commission last met in September 2003. These include the
unanimous adoption, in November 2003, of the Intergovernmental
Agreement on the Asian Highway Network. And, to further strengthen
existing initiatives aimed at addressing the needs of landlocked
and transit developing countries, the secretariat formulated
an Asian Action Plan, which provided an important input to the
Almaty Programme of Action in August 2003.
Mr. Chairman,
It was in this very city two years ago that ESCAP members adopted
the Shanghai Implementation Strategy, to implement the commitments
in the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the
Macao Plan of Action on Ageing for Asia and the Pacific.
In the first year of the Asian and Pacific Decade
of Disabled Persons, the secretariat, with substantial support
from the Government of Japan and the China Disabled Persons'
Federation, convened a number of meetings to assist members
in developing a unified Asian and Pacific position on a proposed
International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the
Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities.
ESCAP's work on health and development is focusing
on the adoption of a regional strategy for the promotion of
health and development covering issues such as hunger, communicable
diseases, including AIDS, and the socio-economic implications
of epidemics such as SARS and avian influenza.
Mr. Chairman,
Let me conclude by saying that ESCAP has continued with the
process of revitalizing its work programme to make it more effective.
This revitalization was most notable in its efforts to realign
the work of ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre and our various
regional institutes with the priorities and objectives of ESCAP.
Such initiatives have resulted in the development of work plans
that should better meet the needs of Governments. The secretariat
will continue to respond to new situations and new requirements
in line with the dynamic environment of the region.
Thank you very much for your attention.
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