Press Release No. G/20/00, BS/21/00
7 June 2000
(Wednesday, 7 June 2000)
Mr Chairman,
Excellencies, Distinguished Representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As the 56th session of the Commission draws to a close, may I first of all, Mr Chairman, express my deep appreciation to you for the very skillful manner with which you have guided our deliberations. My sincere thanks also go to all the Vice Chairmen; the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the three Committees of the Whole; as well as the Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Working Group on Draft Resolutions for the very significant contributions they have made to the work of the Commission over the past few days.
I also wish to express my deep appreciation to the Royal Thai Government for its assistance towards the holding of this session. As the host country of ESCAP, Thailand has consistently provided its generous support to the Commission and the secretariat.
I would also like to express my deep appreciation to all the distinguished representatives for upholding the traditional spirit of harmony and consensus during our deliberations.
Mr Chairman,
I was much encouraged by the strong support expressed by the member states for our efforts. Specially welcome has been the emphasis on closer regional cooperation in an increasingly inter-dependent and globalizing world. A clear message that emerged from the session is that the developing countries of the region will have to work even closer than in the past if they are to reap the benefits of globalization. This has become all the more evident following the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Seattle and UNCTAD X in Bangkok.
Mr Chairman,
Let me assure this august body that ESCAP remains committed to searching for new avenues for strengthening regional cooperation that would benefit, in particular, the developing members and associate members. Let me digress briefly at this point to offer some personal thoughts as I prepare to leave the secretariat after what has arguably been a five-year period of transition and change in the evolution of the Organization and in the development dynamics of the region.
First and foremost, it is clear that if ESCAP is to succeed in fulfilling its mandate, it cannot go it alone. We need to build partnerships - with other regional and subregional organizations, UN bodies and specialized agencies, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and civil society.
As I had stated earlier, the last five years have been specially challenging for us in the Asia Pacific region. At the same time, in a region that is as vast and diverse as Asia and the Pacific, we have witnessed the United Nations financial crisis since 1995 and Asian Economic and financial crisis in 1997. These have occurred in a rapidly changing and globalizing world, and require, among others, reform and adjustment to a more focused and efficient approach which would make the Commission more relevant and responsive to the needs of member states. It would also entail closer cooperation with other stakeholders, and the promotion of ECDC and TCDC in order to help each other.
In fact, these are essentially the kinds of things that we have been working on in ESCAP during the last 5 years. We have made some progress in that regard.
I am deeply grateful to the member states for the consistently strong support provided to the secretariat and to me personally over the last five years. I was very touched by the many references to me personally in the statements by leaders of delegations. Indeed, I feel greatly honoured and privileged to have served the Commission during this period.
I should also like express my deep appreciation to the able and dedicated staff of the secretariat who, through their collective efforts, make the Organization proud. I value their many contributions and I shall miss them.
Mr Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Representatives,
In this "global village" I am sure that our paths will cross again. So I will not say "Good Bye" but rather "so long".
Thank you.