UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION
FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

UNCTAD X Mid-term Review Meeting

29 April - 3 May 2002
Bangkok

OPENING ADDRESS BY MR. KIM HAK-SU,
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF ESCAP

Your Excellency, Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Royal Thai Government;
Your Excellency, Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Royal Thai Government;
Mr. Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of UNCTAD;
Your Excellency, Ambassador Mchumo, President of the UNCTAD Trade and
Development Board;
Distinguished representatives, ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a great honour and pleasure for me to address the Nineteenth Special Session of the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board and UNCTAD X Mid-term Review Meeting, which is being kindly hosted by the Royal Thai Government in cooperation with ESCAP. I wish to join the Secretary-General of UNCTAD in expressing my heartfelt appreciation to the Royal Thai Government for hosting once again such an important meeting after having hosted so successfully the UNCTAD X meeting in Bangkok in 2000, and in particular to you, Your Excellency, Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, for having taken time out of your busy schedule to deliver the inaugural address to this Meeting.

The UNCTAD X Mid-term Review Meeting comes at a very opportune time to review the development dimensions and implications for developing countries in the wake of the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Brussels in May 2001, the launch of a new round of multilateral trade rounds at Doha under the World Trade Organization in November 2001, and new commitments made by developed countries at the recently concluded global conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, last March.

Indeed, profound changes have taken place since the UNCTAD X Meeting in 2000. The collapse of the high-technology bubble in the United States and ensuing global recession has halted economic recovery in various Asian countries from the devastating crisis that struck the region in 1997. The September 11th attacks in the United States and ensuing global security concerns have only worsened their plight although, so far, the worst impacts seem to have been weathered rather well by most countries. Nevertheless, the world in general, and Asia and the Pacific in particular, has to face up to new realities which will shape the future trade negotiations and put the globalization process in a new perspective without reversing the trend towards further liberalization and integration of countries across the globe.

These new realities also reflect developments at the regional level. In particular, the persistent and deepening recession in Japan, which has long been an engine of growth in the region, is viewed with great concern. On the positive side, the accession of China and Taiwan Province of China to the World Trade Organization will affect countries in the region to a larger extent than elsewhere in the world, including China itself. China's WTO membership, however, offers both challenges and opportunities and it is widely believed that with the right policy choices the benefits to the region at large will outweigh the costs. It is also worth noting that China recently acceded to the Bangkok Agreement, the region's oldest and largest regional trading arrangement in terms of geographic coverage. Just recently, the Standing Committee of the Bangkok Agreement agreed to launch a third round of tariff negotiations this year, while ESCAP is undertaking sustained efforts to revitalize the Agreement. In addition, the developments in Afghanistan and pending statehood of East Timor are just two of other important events in Asia and the Pacific receiving world attention and which will define new needs for technical assistance in the areas of trade and investment in the region.

The Asian and Pacific region indeed faces tremendous development challenges, not in the least in the areas of trade and investment, from the least developed countries to economies in transition in Central Asia, and from the Greater Mekong Subregion to the more developed countries which are either in recession or run the risk of descending into recession soon. Asia and the Pacific is the largest and probably the most diverse region in the world and as a result, the development challenges facing these countries vary widely. In this context, it is widely believed that countries stand to benefit substantially from subregional and regional cooperation to face the challenges posed by globalization and the new economy and to ensure that policies and strategies to reduce poverty and boost economic and social development will have maximum impact. As a result, the role of ESCAP, as the prime and largest organization with a wide regional geographic coverage in Asia and the Pacific with the mandate to promote regional cooperation, has assumed a new importance.

Excellencies, distinguished representatives, ladies and gentlemen,

In view of the above-mentioned considerations, being fully aware that the world is not standing still but rapidly changing, it is pertinent that ESCAP also requires change to enable it to respond more effectively to the needs of its members. As a result, ESCAP is also undergoing a revitalization exercise which so far has resulted in a refocusing of ESCAP's work programme towards three major areas: poverty reduction, managing globalization, and addressing emerging social issues. The new programme and conference structure was endorsed recently by a high-level intergovernmental meeting and is likely to be approved by the 58th session of the Commission which will take place next month. It is expected that the restructuring exercise will provide ESCAP with a new momentum to respond more flexibly and quickly to changing conditions in the region and in the world at large.

We are pleased to see that the new momentum has already resulted in strengthened relationships with our partner organizations, not in the least UNCTAD. In fact, the relationship between ESCAP and UNCTAD goes back a long time and is well-established. For example, this year, a large project on "Capacity Building for Managing Globalization for ESCAP Member States" was approved by the General Assembly under the third tranche of the United Nations Development Account. The project will be jointly implemented over a period of three years by ESCAP and UNCTAD. Our relationship is now further cemented through a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations which was signed by Mr. Rubens Ricupero and myself yesterday. This MOU will only formalize the excellent cooperation which we have enjoyed for a long time. ESCAP's current cooperation in organizing the Mid-term Review Meeting is a perfect example of this.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the opening of an International Institute for Trade and Development in Bangkok. The location of the Institute in Bangkok reflects the importance of Asia and the Pacific to global trade and investment flows. In this context, I am pleased to extend the full cooperation of ESCAP to the Institute, in particular as ESCAP has a large programme in trade and investment in the region and expertise in this area.

Excellencies, distinguished representatives, ladies and gentlemen,

The UNCTAD Mid-term Review Meeting is expected to review the developments which have taken place in the last two years at the global level and development challenges for the future. In light of the profound changes which have taken place, as I mentioned before, the challenges ahead are enormous. It is hoped that the Meeting will lead to new perspectives on the future direction of trade and development. I wish the Meeting all success.

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