What’s Ahead @ ESCAP

UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
www.unescap.org
March 2006
Click on image to enlarge. Economic and Social Survey to be launched in Singapore, other capital cities
The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific will be launched this year in Singapore on 30 March. Simultaneous launches will be also be organized in over a dozen cities in the region and at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. The theme of the 2006 Survey is ‘Energizing the global economy.’ Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su will lead a team of UNESCAP economists in presenting the report’s findings to local and international journalists, private sector officials, and Government economists. The Poverty and Development Division, which produces the flagship publication, publishes a variety of papers on development economics, monograph series on poverty reduction, and manuals on good practices in poverty reduction.
Click on image to enlarge.Advisory Council to be briefed on early warning systems for tsunamis, hazards
UNESCAP will organize a seminar on 28 March to brief the Advisory Council of a regional tsunami trust fund on the state of early warning systems for tsunamis and other hazards in the region. At the meeting UNESCAP and other partners, such as Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, UN Development Programme, and USAID, will make presentations to Council members on their efforts to date. In response to the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, a Multi-Donor Voluntary Trust Fund on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia was established at UNESCAP to support the principles of prevention and preparedness for tsunamis and other natural hazards, by promoting regional cooperation and coordination on disaster risk management.
Click on image to enlarge.WTO/UNESCAP/ARTNeT regional seminar to examine agriculture negotiations
The WTO/UNESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on Agriculture Negotiations for Asia-Pacific Economies will be held in Xian, China from 29-31 March. The meeting intends to enhance the understanding of concerned policy makers and negotiators about issues related to multilateral trade liberalization in agriculture and status of negotiations. The Seminar is jointly organized by the World Trade Organization (WTO), UNESCAP, China's Ministry of Commerce, and is supported by ARTNeT, a joint UNESCAP/IDRC initiative, aiming to increase the amount of quality and relevant trade research in the region by harnessing the research capacity already available. About 50 senior officials, including two vice ministers, from 27 countries are expected to participate.
Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, addresses the High-level Plenary Meeting of the Sixtieth Session of the UN General Assembly (2005 World Summit) UN Headquarters. The World Summit, held from 14-16 September 2005, was the largest gathering of world leaders in history. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras. Click on image to enlarge.Task Force on Gender to host observance of International Women's Day
 International Women's Day 2006 will be observed on 8 March in Bangkok at the UN Conference Centre with a programme organized by the International Women’s Day Task Force on Gender under the the theme ‘Women in decision-making.’ The observance will include a keynote panel presentation on ‘Women and Decision-making: Challenges and Opportunities,’ a theatrical performance on women's issues by a local theatre group, and an exhibition. The 2006 theme highlights the importance of increasing the number of women actively participating in political decision-making. According to UNESCAP, the number of women in lower houses of parliament reached 13.4 per cent in 2000. Without women's active participation at all levels of decision-making, as the Beijing Platform for Action states, “the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.” The International Women’s Day Task Force on Gender includes representatives from various United Nations agencies and offices, as well as the UN Women's Club in Bangkok. Pictured left is Ms. Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, addressing the UN General Assembly in September 2005.
Click on image to enlarge. Least developed countries meet to review programme of action since 2001 
Some 60 representatives of the region's least developed countries (LDCs) will gather in Bangkok from 14-15 March to conduct a mid-point review of their progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals since the adoption in 2001 of a results-oriented strategy tailored to the meet their special needs. The Prime Minister of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mr. Bounnhang Vorachith, will open the meeting, co-organized by UNESCAP’s LDC Coordinating Unit and the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS), with support from the United Nations Development Programme. Participants will also consider how implementation of coherent regional support measures in the areas of financing for development, trade, migration, and technology transfer, environment, and security could enable these countries to attain their internationally agreed development goals by 2015. Known as the the Brussels Declaration and the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010, the strategy details measures to be taken by LDCs and their development partners to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development. The 14 LDCs in the Asia-Pacific region are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Click to enlarge image.Tourism sector in Greater Mekong Subregion focus of meeting to be held in Luang Prabang
UNESCAP’s Transport and Tourism Division, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) will jointly organize the 17th Meeting of the Working Group on the Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Sector in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR from 28-30 March in collaboration with the Lao National Tourism Administration. The objectives of the Meeting are to facilitate the implementation of the Greater Mekong subregion tourism sector strategy and discuss areas of specific cooperation for promoting tourism in the subregion.
Special Observances and Meetings
 
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