Press Release No. G/04/2001

2 March 2001

EMINENT PERSONS TO DISCUSS INTEGRATION OF ASIAN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES INTO INTERNATIONAL TRADING SYSTEM

BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services)---A Meeting of Eminent Persons on Integration  of Asian Developing  Countries into the International Trading System will be organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran  from 10-11 March 2001.

The Meeting is  a follow-up to the  deliberations of ESCAP 56th annual Session, held in June 2000, on the theme topic of “Development through  Globalization and Partnership into Twenty-first Century: An Asia-Pacific Perspective for Integrating Developing Countries and Economies in Transition into the International Trading System on a Fair and Equitable Basis.”

The Meeting will be attended by eminent persons from the Asian and Pacific region, including H.E. Dr. Supachai Panitchapakdi, former Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister of the Royal Thai Government and future Director General of WTO and  Dr. Manmohan Singh, former Minister of Finance  of the Government of India.

The main theme was to address the imbalances in the multilateral trading system between the developed countries on the one hand and the developing countries, in particular the economies in transition, on the other.

"The theme has assumed renewed importance in the context of the globalization process and the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which has strengthened the institutional framework of the multilateral trading system in a globalizing world", said Kim Hak Su, ESCAP's Executive Secretary.

However, the above-mentioned imbalances continue and need to be addressed to ensure a smooth integration of developing countries into the multilateral trading system, and in effect, into the process of globalization.

The Chair of the 56th Commission Session, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mr. Kamal Kharazzi, will host the Meeting of Eminent Persons from the Asia-Pacific region.

The Meeting will focus its discussion on issues related to globalization and integration of Asian developing countries into the international trading system, with special emphasis on countries with economies in transition from a centrally-planned to a market economy as  well as from a single product to a diversified product economy .  Participants will also discuss  the respective roles of the government and the private sector in this process.

                                                            -- UNIS --