Fourth Asia Mayors Forum and Regional Workshop on Good Urban Governance for Poverty Reduction and Social Development, 9 July 2002, Bangkok

Statement by Mr. Kim Hak-Su,
Executive Secretary, UN ESCAP
Press Conference

Good afternoon, Ladies and gentlemen,

Once again, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the mayors in attendance here today. Many of you have traveled from afar, and I thank you for making yourselves available to the journalists gathered here.

I am pleased that UN ESCAP is a co-sponsor of the Fourth Asian Mayors Forum and Regional Workshop on Good Urban Governance for Poverty Alleviation and Social Development - Exchange of Tools, Techniques and Good Practices

The mayors attending this Forum and Workshop will, I hope, benefit from ESCAP's expertise in its three core areas: managing globalization, addressing emerging social issues and poverty reduction. And of course they will have a chance to share their common experiences with each another.

Poverty reduction is the greatest challenge facing governments today. At this moment, most of Asia's poor live in the rural areas and rural development remains a priority.
But this rural-to-urban ratio is rapidly changing. Increasingly, the rural poor are migrating to the cities in search of work. But rather than discovering prosperity, many find only poverty of a different kind in a new environment. The urban poor lack access to basic urban infrastructure such as clean water and adequate sanitation. They do not have access to services such as credit or market information. Regulations make it difficult for them to develop their micro-enterprise into a profitable business.

Therefore, there is the risk of an urbanization of poverty - a geographical shift rather than a reduction of poverty. It is extremely important that we address the issue of urban poverty before it overwhelms our cities and towns.

I'd like to repeat something I said last night during the opening dinner. I'm afraid that, all too often in this region, urban policies and regulations do not effectively support poverty reduction. Accommodating the informal sector in the urban society and economy is an important contribution to urban poverty reduction, which means supporting initiatives of the poor.

It also means removing barriers that prevent the poor from participating in the economy, in decision-making and in benefiting from development, and increasing the capacity of the poor to participate.

I am confident this meeting will help everyone involved find solutions to some of the challenges faced by their cities and towns.

Thank you very much.

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