ESCAP’s 65th session underway as it marks 60 years in Bangkok
It is a heavily-packed week for staff of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) as the Commission’s 65th Session opened at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday, 23 April.
The annual big gathering of Asia and the Pacific countries brings together ministers and senior officials from ESCAP’s 62 member governments to discuss their collective challenges and to propose a coordinated response.
This year, the gathering is providing a unique opportunity for the delegates to discuss what has become known as the “triple threat” - economic crisis, food-fuel insecurity and climate change.
For the UN regional arm, the event also marks the 60th anniversary of the Commission’s presence in Bangkok. Founded originally in Shanghai, China in March 1947 as the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), ESCAP moved in 1949 to Bangkok and established a base of operations for Asia and the Pacific.
Alongside the 65th session, the Commission in partnership with the Thai Foreign Ministry is celebrating the anniversary with an exhibition of historic photos, chronicling six decades of the UN in Thailand.
The photos range from ESCAP’s first Bangkok offices, to early commission sessions, to the UN family’s response to the 2004 Tsunami and Cyclone Nargis. The exhibition will be inaugurated at the opening of the ministerial segment on Monday, 27 April.
The occasion also marks the 50th anniversary of the Asian Highway, celebrated with another photo exhibition, “Five Decades of Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway,” which shows how Asian countries are striving together to unify the continent through trade and transport, building on the legacy of the ancient Silk Road.
Opening session of ESCAP’s big event
Like many regions, Asia and the Pacific countries are grappling with the triple threat of economic crisis, continued food-fuel insecurity and climate change, requiring greater regional cooperation in dealing with the challenges.
“While no country in the region has been spared from the impacts of the triple crises, we can turn these threats into opportunities,” said Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP on Thursday at the opening of the annual session.
Financial stimulus packages and policy reforms, she noted, could be used to bring back balance to the development equation. “Development needs to be inclusive and environmentally sustainable if our region is to lead recovery from the economic crises and take its place as one of the leaders in the new economic order.”
ESCAP, Ms. Heyzer assured delegates, is ready to facilitate the process, by building consensus and leveraging regional resources to improve cooperation as countries respond to the triple threat.
“While financial policy reforms taken since 1997 in our region have helped buffer us from the worst of the economic crisis, much remains to be done,” she said, adding, “We need to strengthen ESCAP so that member states are provided with a strong regional platform or architecture to address development challenges and implement innovative solutions through regional cooperation.”
Looking ahead
The theme for this year’s meeting is sustainable agriculture and food security in Asia and the Pacific. A ministerial round table on the topic will be held on Monday, 27 April, featuring ministers from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea.
Other leaders joining the discussion include David Nabarro, Coordinator of the Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis chaired by Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon, as well as Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank and Dr. Heyzer.
Delegates will also be discussing the implementation of the Bali Outcome Document which contains a range of recommendations for regional actions and initiatives to address food, energy and financial security in the context of climate change.
A high-level panel on the economic crisis will be held on the morning of Tuesday, 28 April. Speakers will include Kim Jong-hoon, Minister for Trade, Republic of Korea, Executive Secretaries of the UN’s Regional Commissions for Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, as well as Martin Khor, Executive Director of the South Centre – an intergovernmental organization of developing countries based in Geneva.
A meeting focusing on the impacts of the triple crises on the 14 least developed countries and 12 land-locked developing countries in the region will take place on Friday, 24 April.