Experts, including representatives of academic and research institutions, will be participating in an expert consultation to analyse income support schemes in selected countries of Asia and the Pacific. The meeting, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Social Development Division and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), will be held in Bangkok during 4 and 5 March 2013. The meeting will review research findings conducted by ESCAP in cooperation with national counterparts as a basis for developing effective income support schemes as a component of social protection agendas in the region.

ESCAP, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), the UN Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and the Government of Lao PDR will jointly organize the Euro-Asia Regional Review of the Almaty Programme of Action (APoA ) by the Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) from 5 to 7 March 2013 in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The main aim of this meeting is to review the progress made in the implementation of the APoA by Euro-Asian LLDCs, identify challenges and constraints encountered and suggest the way forward, especially the priority areas that could be included in the new Programme of Action for LLDCs. The Outcome Document of this meeting will be presented to the sixty-ninth ESCAP Commission session from 25 April to 1 May 2013 in Bangkok for its consideration as a regional input to the global review of the APoA in 2014.

The workshops are aimed at initiating and facilitating cooperation among Asia-Pacific countries and regional initiatives related to space technology utilization, focusing mainly on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) in small islands and landlocked countries. Taking a long term perspective, the participants at the workshops would present and discuss issues related to comprehensive utilization of space applications to address the DRRM needs of geographically susceptible and vulnerable countries and districts in the region. Disaster forecasting, preparedness, early warning, evacuation, rescue, monitoring, damage assessment, recovery and rehabilitation are all areas that could be improved through a comprehensive approach that leverages regional cooperation to better utilize space applications. Organized by: Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division, ESCAP, and supported by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

With the support of the secretariat, the member States and international partners will discuss how to implement the work plan approved by the third session of the Committee on Statistics. In particular, the meeting aims to develop (1) a strategy for a possible refinement of the Core set of population and social statistics; (2) a framework and plan for review of national practices in population and social statistics; and (3) a detailed work plan for the Technical Advisory Group until the fourth session of the Committee on Statistics in December 2014. The meeting will take place in Bangkok, UNCC, from 6 to 8 March 2013.

A special commemoration of International Women’s Day will be held on 8 March 2013 at the UNCC in Bangkok. The Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, will deliver the keynote address at the event. The ceremony will also feature a dedication ceremony of the painting "Half the Sky", commissioned by civil society, to honour Dr. Heyzer for her contribution to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment at the global and regional levels. This year’s commemoration is also dedicated to the women and girl survivors of violence in Asia and the Pacific. The global theme of the UN observance of International Women’s Day 2013 is “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women.” The commemoration is being organized by the RCM Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women, which is co-chaired by ESCAP and UN Women.

ESCAP South and South-West Asia Office hosts lecture by Prof. Esther Duflo

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on Enhancing Regional Connectivity through Trade and Investment: Towards Regional Arrangements for the Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade on 13-14 March 2013 at UNCC in Bangkok. The EGM aims to review findings of a study report on regional arrangements for the facilitation of cross-border paperless trade, and to discuss in detail, institutional and implementation features of the proposed arrangements. The EGM will bring together selected experts from the region and beyond for in-depth discussions. The EGM is organized with the support of the United Nations Network Experts for Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (UNNExT).

Subregional Office for East and North-East Asia (SRO-ENEA) as the Secretariat of North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) and the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) of UNEP will jointly organize the workshop on marine biodiversity conservation and marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Northwest Pacific. The 17th Senior Officials Meeting of NEASPEC held in December 2012 endorsed launching the North-East Asian MPA Network to facilitate cooperation among member States on the management of MPAs. In this regard, the workshop is expected to formulate the programme and operational modality of the MPA Network.

ESCAP, as the Secretariat to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, is organizing the fortieth (40th) session of the APTA Standing Committee from 19-21 March 2013 at the UNCC in Bangkok. Representatives and negotiation experts from the focal point ministries of the Participating States (Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka) of the APTA have confirmed to participate in the Standing Committee session. The Committee will explore widening and deepening areas of South-South trade and investment cooperation and regional integration, including: Conclusion of Fourth Round Negotiations on Tariff Concessions; Ratification of Framework Agreement on Trade in Services; Roadmap for Negotiations on Trade Facilitation, Investment and Trade in Services; Product-Specific Rule and De Minimis Rule under APTA Rules of Origin; Information Exchange on Non-Tariff Measures; and, Progress on Mongolia's Accession to APTA. Participating States will also hold bilateral meetings to agree on the multilateralized concession list to expedite the conclusion of the current round of preferential tariff negotiations. Bilateral meetings are also held between the current member States of the APTA and Mongolia to finalize Mongolia's accession to the Agreement by the fourth session of the APTA Ministerial Council, which is expected to be convened in June 2013 at Dhaka, Bangladesh, subject to the Standing Committee's decision at its 40th session. The APTA is the Regional Trade Agreement whose membership is open to all Developing member States of ESCAP.

The ARTNeT capacity building workshop on the use of gravity modelling will be held on 19-22 March 2013 at UNCC, ESCAP. The event aims to develop participants’ capacity to use gravity modeling tools to conduct research on trade policy and facilitation issues as input for improved evidence-based policy making. The four-day event will be dedicated to hands-on training on gravity modeling, including dataset preparation, estimation, interpretation and policy applications. Please visit this link for further details on the workshop:
http://www.unescap.org/tid/artnet/mtg/gravity13.asp.