The ESCAP Trade and Investment Division (TID), in cooperation with the International Poverty Reduction Centre in China (IPRCC) and the China International Electronic Commerce Centre (CIECC), is organizing the Consultation on Trade Facilitation for Poverty Reduction from 5 to 6 March at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), in Bangkok. With support from China, TID is implementing a project on Trade Facilitation for Poverty Reduction which aims to identify trade facilitation measures that can contribute to poverty reduction and building capacity of Asia-Pacific developing countries to implement them. The objectives of the consultation are: (i) to identify trade facilitation policies and measures that can impact poverty reduction based on existing literature and work in other organizations, and (ii) to review short-listed research proposals received through the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT) and identify research/study topics for the project.

The Asia-Pacific Regional Commemoration of International Women’s Day will be held on 8 March at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The event is being organized by ESCAP and UN Women with members of the Regional Coordination Mechanism Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women.

The 2012 regional commemoration is being observed under the umbrella of the Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign. The theme will focus on youth leadership to prevent violence against women and girls, in line with the UN International Year of Youth and the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly, “We the Peoples” (New York, 21 September 2011). The highlight of the event will be an interactive panel discussion featuring youth leaders from across Asia-Pacific entitled “Youth Voices UNiTE to End Violence against Women and Girls”.

The ESCAP Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division (MPDD) will organize the expert group meeting Enhancing Regional Economic Integration in Asia and the Pacific: Towards a Comprehensive and Broader Framework on 9 March at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The meeting will review an ESCAP study which will guide discussions during a ministerial round table at the 68th session of the Commission. The study covers the potential and present status of regional economic integration and cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, physical and soft connectivity, regional infrastructure financing as well as food security, disaster risk reduction and the environment.

Ministers of transport and related government ministries from the Asia and Pacific region will meet at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok from 12 to 16 March for the second session of the Ministerial Conference on Transport to discuss strategies to overcome the challenges the region faces in meeting its transport infrastructure needs and developing a reliable and efficient regional transport system for inclusive and sustainable economic and social development. The Conference will review the implementation of the Regional Action Programme for Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific, phase I (2006-2011), which was adopted at the Ministerial Conference on Transport, held in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2006. The Regional Action Programme aims to realize the vision of an “international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system” connecting all ESCAP members and associate members. Building on the achievements of the past five years, the Conference is expected to adopt a ministerial declaration, including phase II of the Regional Action Programme (2012-2016) and a regional strategic framework for facilitation of international road transport.

On the occasion of the Ministerial Conference on Transport, ESCAP is also organizing a road safety poster exhibition featuring road safety posters from across the region. The ministerial segment of the Conference and the exhibition will be opened on 15 March by H.E. Mr. Charupong Ruangsuwan, Minister of Transport of the Royal Thai Government and Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP.

ESCAP will organize the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012 in Bangkok from 14 to 16 March, bringing together representatives of member Governments and civil society with the United Nations system to:

- review the roadmap leading up to the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to be held in Incheon, Republic of Korea from 29 October to 2 November 2012;
- consider a proposal to proclaim a new decade to promote the rights of persons with disabilities to be submitted to the 68th Commission session;
review the first draft of a proposed outcome document of the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting.
- The Regional Preparatory Meeting is being held in pursuance of Commission resolution 66/11 of 19 May 2010 on regional preparations for the High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012.

The ESCAP subsidiary Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA) will organize the Inception Workshop on 'Network for Knowledge Transfer on Sustainable Agricultural Technologies and Improved Market Linkages in South and Southeast Asia (SATNET Asia)’ from 13 to 14 March in Bogor, Indonesia. The workshop follows the recent award of a grant to CAPSA to establish and facilitate a network on sustainable technologies for agricultural production and processing, and facilitation measures for agricultural trade. The objectives of the inception workshop are: (1) to meet all institutions involved in the network, (2) to share the contribution each institution can bring to the network in terms of best practices for sustainable agriculture, trade facilitation and/or capacity building, and (3) to agree on a work plan for the first year.