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..Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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Date 18 May 2007
Press Release No. G/15/2007/CS63/11
63rd Commission Session, 17-23 May 2007, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Embargoed until 0900GMT/1400 Almaty 18 May 2007
UN BUSINESS FORUM OPENS WITH CALLS FOR GREATER INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL ASIAN ECONOMIES
300 business leaders and policy-makers meet in Almaty
Almaty (United Nations Information Services, Bangkok) — Central Asia is one of the world’s fastest growing regions, registering a 12.4% growth rate in 2006. Much of the growth has been driven by oil, gas and mineral resources industries. How to diversify the region’s economies and increase their international competitiveness are topics to be addressed by a United Nations forum which opened today in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
“Only through opening up or greater liberalization can economic diversification be achieved, thereby limiting the risk of reliance on a few commodities,” said Mr. Kim Hak-Su, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNESCAP Executive Secretary at the fourth Asia-Pacific Business Forum (APBF).
The event, organized by Bangkok-based UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), brings together an estimated 300 business leaders and government policy-makers from around Asia and the Pacific.
Mr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), will deliver a keynote speech.
The theme of the forum is “At the Crossroads between Asia and Europe: Harnessing the Possibilities of Central Asia.” Mr. Kim noted that “the region was once a crossroads of global trade. With the right policies in place, it can once again be an important part of that trade.”
He added that “efficient trade and transport procedures are of overarching importance for the region to ensure that enterprises from the region can be competitive in the world market.” Mr. Kim hoped that the forum would serve as a platform to share experiences of successful policies from other parts of Asia.
Kazakhstan’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Galym Orazbakov, told delegates that greater regional cooperation would facilitate the integration of Central Asian economies into the global market.
“Currently Central Asian economies are on the verge of a new development stage,” Mr. Orazbakov said.
“Understanding the need of joint efforts and coordinated actions to promote common interests in the global arena should form a foundation both for international cooperation and interaction, and closer contacts with the outer environment.”
Other invited speakers at the two-day forum include the Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Tariq M. Rangoonwala of Pakistan, and Mr. Wang Jinzhen, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
The forum is organized by UNESCAP in cooperation with the government of Kazakhstan, Kazinvest, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kazakhstan, and the National Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers of Kazakhstan.
Two of the forum’s sessions also serve as meetings of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), a joint initiative between UNESCAP and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Launched in Shanghai in 2004, APBF serves as a platform for networking and dialogue among business leaders and government policy-makers. Taking place during the annual high level meeting of UNESCAP, recommendations emanating from the forum are made available to ministers attending the Commission session.
The 63rd UNESCAP Commission Session, taking place in Almaty, 17-23 May, is the first to be held in Central Asia since UNESCAP was established 60 years ago.
For more details on the Forum, please visit www.unescap.org/tid/apbf/index.asp.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Mr. Hak-Fan Lau, Chief, United Nations Information Services
In Almaty: tel. +(7-705) 168-1553 ♦ fax: +(7-327) 244-2847
Email: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
http://www.unescap.org/63/index_media.asp.
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Headquartered in Bangkok, UNESCAP is the largest of the UN's five Regional Commissions in terms of its membership, population served and area covered. The only inter-governmental forum covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, UNESCAP aims to promote economic and social progress. More information on UNESCAP is available from www.unescap.org
