..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 10 April 2006
Press Release No: G17/CS62/11

UNESCAP's 62nd Commission Session, Jarkarta, 6-12 April 2006

Welcome Statement and Introduction of
Pacific Leaders’ United Nations ESCAP
Special Session (Plus) by
KIM HAK-SU
UN Under-Secretary-General and
ESCAP Executive Secretary

Ministerial Meeting, 10 April 2006

Honourable Pacific Leaders,
Ministers,
Distinguished Delegates,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the history of the Commission, this is the first time that we have the honour of the presence of so many Heads of Government and Heads of State from any subregion.

I am deeply grateful to the Honourable President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, His Excellency Mr. Kessai H. Note, and the Honourable President of Kiribati, His Excellency Mr. Anote Tong, and the Honourable Prime Minister of Tuvalu, His Excellency Mr. Maatia Toafa, for making time to grace the sixty-second Commission session with their presence.

I am also deeply appreciative of the efforts made by the Distinguished Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia, His Excellency Mr. Redley Killion, and the Distinguished Vice President of Palau, His Excellency Mr. Elias Camsek Chin, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister of Vanuatu, His Excellency Mr. Sato Kilman, to join us in Jakarta for this Commission session.

The presence of Their Excellencies, together with the attendance of Honourable Ministers from Fiji, Nauru, and Papua New Guinea, as well as of senior officials from their respective countries and territories, and of the Solomon Islands, makes this a truly historic occasion.

The Pacific Leaders’ United Nations UNESCAP Special Session – PLUS -- provides a unique Asian and Pacific inter-governmental platform for Pacific Leaders to articulate their concerns and engage in interactive dialogue with the delegations of the other UNESCAP members and associate members.

The key objective of PLUS is to identify ways of strengthening Pacific-Asia partnership in economic and social development.

It is my hope that PLUS will give a new impetus to strengthening Pacific-Asia partnership and to articulating with greater clarity and more loudly than ever before the Pacific voice in the Regional Commission.

I look forward to an outcome of greater political commitment to and agreement on ways of strengthening Pacific-Asia partnership in the economic and social development of Pacific island developing countries and territories.

The Pacific island developing countries and territories are an important part of the Asian and Pacific region. With an Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) area of nearly 20 million sq km and a huge maritime area, the Pacific island developing countries and territories are rich in resources. Although the population is relatively small - some 8 million --- the Pacific island developing countries and territories have great potential for mutually beneficial collaboration with Asian countries.

The Asian and Pacific region is the fastest growing part of the world, and likely to remain so in the coming years. One way for the Pacific to benefit more from Asian dynamism is for Pacific island developing countries and territories to expand their partnerships with Asia, just as the Caribbean islands have benefited through their links not only with the United States and Canada, but also with the fast-growing economies of Brazil and Mexico.

Mr. Chairman,

Please permit me to share with you and with the other Distinguished Delegates a summary of the background document E/ESCAP (1361). This document was prepared in consultation with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme, and I would like to thank both our partners for working with us in co-organizing this important session.

The document sets out the key issues that Pacific island developing countries and territories need to address in their quest for economic growth and sustainable development in a rapidly integrating global economy.

It suggests that benefits could be reaped by Pacific island developing countries and territories through greater linkage with the economic dynamism of Asian countries, especially in trade and investment, infrastructure and ICT.

Developing trade and attracting foreign investment into the Pacific subregion continues to be an important goal. Indeed, I am happy to note that two-way trade between Asia and the Pacific islands is increasing and there is great potential for accelerating this growth.

The agreement reached by all Forum member countries in 1999 to develop a Regional Free Trade Area was a significant step forward towards creating a single market. While this has the potential to bring economic benefits to the Pacific developing island countries and territories, it would also effectively serve to generate and encourage greater growth and regional cooperation, as well as the inflow of foreign direct investment from other regions.

The document also suggests that tourism has great potential for raising growth in the Pacific developing islands and that Asian countries could become a major source market for Pacific island tourist destinations. In addition, there are many opportunities for more foreign direct investment in Pacific island tourism.

Mr. Chairman,

Many of the requisite partnerships for Pacific island development, including the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, and the Mauritius Strategy could be effected through South-South cooperation.

In that regard, I am happy to mention that UNESCAP is implementing a regional project entitled “South-South Cooperation for Tsunami and Other Disaster Risk Management”. This marks the beginning of a new phase in UNESCAP’s South-South cooperation activities. Through South-South cooperation, the project will facilitate a process driven by participating countries that would allow governments in the region, including interested Pacific countries, to share expertise, experiences, and models for tsunami and disaster risk management. This modality could also be used in a range of priority areas, such as the setting up of dedicated satellite communication systems, infrastructure and renewable energy development.

I salute the courage with which Pacific island leaders have agreed to collectively confront their problems by adopting in Papua New Guinea in October last year the Pacific Plan for strengthening regional cooperation and integration for the future of Pacific island peoples. I am particularly pleased that the MDGs and the Mauritius Strategy are integral elements of the Plan.

UNESCAP encourages Asian countries to support Pacific island developing countries in implementing the Pacific Plan, including by increasing their involvement in economic and social development priorities.

On our part, UNESCAP in collaboration with other development partners stands ready to assist Pacific island developing countries and territories in implementing the Pacific Plan.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to introduce PLUS.

 

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