The sixty-fifth Commision session of ESCAP will be held from 23 to 29 April 2009 at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok. Ministers and senior officials from 62 member governments will gather under one roof to discuss key challenges the Asia- Pacific region faces. The Commission session is structured in two parts: the senior officials’ segment, which will be held from 23 to 25 April, and the ministerial segment which will be held from 27 to 29 April. There will be two special events: a Ministerial Round Table on “Towards sustainable agriculture and food security in the Asia-Pacific region” will take place in the afternoon of Monday, 27 April; a High-level Panel on the Economic Crisis will be held in the morning of Tuesday, 28 April 2009. This year’s Commission session will also marks the 60th anniversary of ESCAP’s presence in Thailand. The Prime Minister of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, is expected to address the opening of the session.

The Special Body on Least Developed and Landlocked Developing Countries (LDCs and LLDCs) will be integrated into the Commission session of ESCAP for the first time this year, taking place on 24 April during the senior officials’ segment. A distinguishing feature of this year’s special body will be the “High-Level Exchange on Food-Fuel-Financial Crisis and Climate Change: Addressing Threats to Development”. In addition, the special body will discuss regional cooperation for shared prosperity and social progress, and a summary of progress in the implementation of resolutions relating to countries with special needs. The special body session will also highlight gaps and the need to strengthen institutional capacities in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in countries with special needs. Fourteen out of 50 LDCs in the world are in Asia and the Pacific - the largest number after Africa. The region also accounts for 12 out of 31 LLDCs worldwide, some of them are also LDCs.

North-East Asian Countries to Discuss Environmental Challenges in Moscow

The Environment and Development Division of ESCAP will hold the 14th Senior Officials Meeting of North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) from 8 to 9 April in Moscow. The meeting will be attended by government officials and experts from six North-East Asian countries--China, Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation. The discussions will focus on new initiatives to address threats to sustainable development in North-East Asia from dust and sandstorms, and trans-boundary air pollution. Participants will also discuss nature conservation in trans-boundary areas and eco-efficiency partnership. NEASPEC was launched in 1993 as an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism to address environmental challenges in North-East Asia. Since its inception, ESCAP has been serving as its secretariat as well as proving technical support. The Senior Officials Meeting is held annually.

The United Nations and ASEAN have a shared vision of building a more stable and prosperous world. With the ASEAN-UN Summit scheduled to take place on 12 April in Thailand, ESCAP has prepared a study entitled Striving Together: ASEAN and the UN. The study, which will be launched during the Summit, reflects on more than 40 years of ASEAN experiences, and anticipates future ASEAN-UN cooperation on issues such as security, and economic and social development.