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..Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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Date 10 April
2006
Press Release No: G/14/CS62/8
UNESCAP’s 62nd Commission Session, 6-12 April 2006
RADICAL MEASURES URGED
TO FIGHT POVERTY
Ministers tackle urgent agenda on opening day
Indonesian Foreign Minister elected to Chair Ministerial Meeting
Jakarta, 10 April 2006 - Governments in the region must intervene with radical measures to address rising inequality, high levels of youth unemployment, and work quickly to rescue the 130 million children working instead of schooling.
The appeal was made to Ministers and high-level officials from over 50 UNESCAP members meeting in Jakarta to seek ways to energize their economies amidst the threats of natural disasters.
UNESCAP’s 62nd Commission Session (6-12 April) which began today with the theme of ‘Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Infrastructure Development including that related to Disaster Management,’ will examine ways to finance sustained long-term development in terms of infrastructure and environmental protection.
In his inaugural statement, H.E. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told Commission delegates that to be meaningful, infrastructure development must be in line with the principle of “infrastructures for all.”
“It should ensure widespread social benefits and improve the quality of life of all our people, including the poor, especially those in remote rural areas. That is how we partner with the poor in the drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”
Delegates elected Indonesian Foreign Minister H.E. Hassan Wirajuda as Chairman of the Ministerial Meeting of the 62nd Commission Session.
In spite of some gains in transport, notably the Trans-Asian Railway Network and the Asian Highway Network, a staggering US$600 billion a year is needed for infrastructure development in the region as a whole, said UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su in his policy speech.
“We must have a process to review the options and we must do this quickly,” he noted.
In a statement read out for him, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged delegates to use the meeting to sustain the momentum generated by last September’s World Summit in New York.
“While world leaders did not achieve everything we might have hoped for, they did agree on progress on a broad front,” he said.
An energy strategy with emphasis on energy efficiency, outstanding trade issues arising out of the Doha Development Agenda, exploitation of and cross-border trafficking of women, and the AIDS epidemic are high on the agenda.
Monday’s focus was on the Pacific countries in the ‘first’ Pacific Leaders United Nations ESCAP Special Session (PLUS). The leaders were able to articulate their concerns and discuss how Asia could be of help in strengthening Pacific-Asia partnerships.
Speaking on behalf of the Pacific island countries, the President of the Marshall Islands, H.E. Kessai Note, told the Commission that there was a critical need for balanced development that would ensure win-win outcomes for all.
“There is a particular concern over the environment in the Pacific, addressing the impact of climate change and rising sea levels. The sustainable use of natural Pacific resources, whether for tourism promotion or trade, has been strongly emphasized,” he said.
“The message is loud and clear. New and extended partnerships with Pacific island developing countries are necessary for the sustainable development of the region.”
The 62nd Commission Session continues tomorrow with a Ministerial Roundtable on Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Infrastructure Development, adoption of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway, and a briefing by Dr. David Nabarro, Senior UN system Coordinator on Avian and Human influenza.
The day will conclude with a joint press conference at 17:30 hrs in the Jakarta Convention Centre by Mr. Kim and Dr. Nabarro.
The Commission session wraps up on Wednesday, 12 April with a side event on the gender dimensions of international migration, adoption by the Ministers of the Commission's report, and a closing joint press conference given by Mr. Kim and the Chairman of the 62nd Commission Session, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda.
Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is the largest of the UN's five Regional Commissions, in terms of population served and area covered. The only inter-governmental forum covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, it aims to promote economic development and social progress in the developing countries of the Asian and Pacific region. More information is available at www.unescap.org.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Mr. David Lazarus, Chief, United Nations Information Services Bangkok
In Jakarta: Tel: +(62-21) 572-6126
Mobile: +(66-1) 849-2554
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
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