Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) targets universal access to energy, an increased share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvement. While the Asia-Pacific region has made considerable progress in meeting SDG 7 targets, much more work needs to be done if the region is to...
Asia-Pacific countries endorse Bangkok Declaration to reinvigorate cooperation and set forth a common development agenda
Leaders from around Asia and the Pacific – a region at the forefront of the world’s innovation and economic growth – today pledged to leverage its advantages towards protecting people and the planet. The Bangkok Declaration, adopted at the conclusion of the 78th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific...
Annual UN policy forum opens with call for Asia-Pacific countries to “reclaim its future” in a richer yet riskier world
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) opened its 78th session in Bangkok today with global and regional leaders calling for strengthened regional cooperation and multilateralism as reverberating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and geopolitical conflicts threaten to derail sustainable development. “To address systemic risks, we should...
Delegation of Turkmenistan headed by the minister of finance and economy will take part in the session of ESCAP
On May 23-27, a delegation headed by the Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan Mr.Serdarov is visiting Bangkok to participate in the 78th session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The current session of the Commission will be held under the theme “A common agenda to advance...
Tackling the pandemic of inequality in Asia and the Pacific
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana After two years of human devastation, the world is learning to live with COVID-19 while trying to balance the protection of public health and livelihoods. For countries in Asia and the Pacific, this is challenging not only because national coffers are heavily strained by record public spending to mitigate pandemic suffering, but...
New regional UN report sounds alarm on widening disparities and increased vulnerabilities amid the pandemic
The need to reach those who are furthest behind has never been greater, reveals the 2022 Asia and the Pacific Sustainable Development Goals Progress Report issued today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The report finds that average progress in the region disproportionately excludes some groups with...
Is Asia and the Pacific ready for the global climate stage?
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana As the leaders of Asia and the Pacific prepare to head to Glasgow for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), they can be sure that our region will be in the spotlight: many of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change are located here;...
Trade costs on the rise in Asia and the Pacific, but cuts in red tape could help bend the trend
The high cost of trade in Asia and the Pacific continues to rise, but ongoing efforts to facilitate commerce will help keep goods flowing throughout the region, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Economies in the...
Resilience in a riskier world
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana Over the past two decades, the Asia-Pacific region has made remarkable progress in managing disaster risk. But countries can never let down their guard. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its epicentre now in Asia, and all its tragic consequences, has exposed the frailties of human societies in the face of powerful natural forces....
ESCAP launches online tool to help countries visualize and analyze trade integration
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) today launched the RIVA value chain analyzer, a new online platform to support policymakers, analysts and researchers who want to understand how well integrated countries are in global value chains. Through RIVA, the Regional Integration and Value Chain Analyzer, policy analysts from...
Universal civil registration and vital statistics are critical for truth, trust and COVID recovery in Asia and the Pacific
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, Omar Abdi With health systems at a breaking point, hospitals at capacity and desperate family members searching for oxygen for loved ones, the devastating second wave of COVID-19 that has swept across South Asia has felt ¬surreal. Official figures have indicated record-breaking daily coronavirus cases and deaths, not only in...
UN ESCAP REPORT ‘BEYOND THE PANDEMIC’ LAUNCHED
Bangkok – Broadening social protection, investing in a sustained recovery, keeping goods and information flowing, and protecting environmental health will be key to emerging stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a flagship report released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) today. The theme study for the...
COVID19 a wake-up call to address development fault lines in Asia and the Pacific
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) The world is emerging from the biggest social and economic shock in living memory, but it will be a long time before the deep scars of the COVID-19 pandemic on human well-being fully...
Sustainable Development Goals can guide Asia-Pacific to build back better
Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations-Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) The COVID-19 crisis poses an unprecedented threat to development in the Asia-Pacific region that could reverse much of the hard-earned progress made in recent years. The good news is we know how to...
Sustainable energy key to COVID-19 recovery in Asia and the Pacific
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana The past year is one that few of us will forget. While the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have played out unevenly across Asia and the Pacific, the region has been spared many of the worst effects seen in other parts of the world. The pandemic has reminded us that a reliable...
“Accelerating Trade Digitalization in Times of the Pandemic”
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana Tomorrow marks the entry into force of a new international agreement promoting paperless trade, a timely reminder of how the COVID-19 pandemic has brought digital solutions to regional development challenges into the limelight. Paperless trade across borders has proven an effective way to mitigate trade disruptions since the onset of the crisis,...
Shifting conversations in multifaceted policymaking
Sudip Ranjan Basu As the people of Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga gear up as the first nations to welcome 2021, communities around the Asia-Pacific region and beyond look forward to bidding farewell to the most tumultuous year in recent decades. 2020 brought unparalleled human suffering that continued to devastatingly impact on the daily lives of...
The United Nations, 75 years young: Engaging youth social entrepreneurs to accelerate the SDGs
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana This year, the United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary – a milestone of extraordinary economic and social progress in Asia and the Pacific. While the Organization enjoys a lifespan almost equal to the world’s improved average life expectancy, the future lies with those who have recently embarked on theirs: our young...
Enhanced social protection an opportunity Asia Pacific must grasp
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Chihoko Asada Miyakawa In the fight against COVID-19, success has so far been defined by responses in Asia and the Pacific. Many countries in our region have been hailed as reference points in containing the virus. Yet if the region is to build back better, the success of immediate responses should...
A Determined Path to the SDGs in 2030 Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Kanni Wignaraja, Bambang Susantono As lockdowns ease in countries across Asia and the Pacific in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is clear—a return to business as usual is unimaginable in a region that was already off track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The virtual High-Level Political...
Healthy oceans: keeping Asia and the Pacific afloat
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Memories of idyllic beaches and sonorous waves may seem far away while we remain at home. Yet, we need not look far to appreciate the enduring history of the ocean in Asia and the Pacific. For generations, the region has thrived on our seas....
Asia-Pacific response to COVID-19 and climate emergency must build a resilient and sustainable future
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP The unprecedented public health emergency triggered by the COVID -19 pandemic and its multi-faceted impact on people’s lives around the world is taking a heavy toll on Asia and the Pacific. Countries in our region are striving to mitigate the massive socioeconomic impact of...
Реагирование стран Азиатско-Тихоокеанского региона на COVID-19 и климатические чрезвычайные ситуации должно построить устойчивое будущее
Армида Салсия Алисджахбана, заместитель Генерального Секретаря Организации Объединенных Наций и исполнительный секретарь ЭСКАТО Беспрецедентная чрезвычайная ситуация в области общественного здравоохранения, вызванная пандемией COVID -19, и ее многогранное влияние на жизнь людей во всем мире оказывают тяжелое воздействие на Азиатско-Тихоокеанский регион. Страны нашего региона стремятся смягчить масштабные социально-экономические последствия пандемии, которая, как ожидается, также повлияет на...
Accelerating SDG Progress in Asia – Pacific
Kaveh Zahedi and Van Nguyen “The 2030 Agenda is coming to life”, declared the Secretary General at the opening of the first SDG Summit, a quadrennial event for the follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As leaders from Asia – Pacific took the floor, theyhighlightedcountry progress of SDG implementation and...
Catalysing change for gender equality
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Great strides have been taken to empower women and girls in the Asia-Pacific region since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing adopted an ambitious global agenda to achieve gender equality twenty-five years ago.Gender parity has been achieved in primary education.Maternal mortality has been halved. Today, the region’s...
Equality beyond reach for many women and girls in Asia-Pacific
UN Ministerial Conference opens with urgent call for change to make gender equality a reality Bangkok – Over 500 Ministers, senior policymakers, UN officials, civil society, youth and private sector representatives from across Asia and the Pacific region today gathered in Bangkok to chart out priority actions to support accelerated progress on gender equality and...
Learning from a half-century of economic development in Asia
Deepak Nayyar In 1968 renowned economist Gunnar Mydral publishedAsian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations, a highly pessimistic work on Asia’s development prospects. The fifty years since witnessed a remarkable economic transformation with Asia emerging as a global economic powerhouse. Like so many, it was hard for Mydral to imagine Asia undergoing such...
Disaster risk resilience: key to protecting vulnerable communities
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana The past five years have been the hottest on record in Asia and the Pacific. Unprecedented heat waves have swept across our region, cascading into slow onset disasters such as drought. Yet heat is only part of the picture. Tropical cyclones have struck new, unprepared parts of our region and devastatingly frequent...
Growing disaster risks exceeding Asia-Pacific’s capacity to respond
New UN report warns of a new climate reality where economic losses are set to quadruple Bangkok (ESCAP news) – The relentless sequence of natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific the past two years was beyond what the region had previously experienced or was able to predict – and this is a sign of...
More dry years ahead for South-East Asia
New UN-ASEAN study reveals slow but devastating impacts of drought in the region Mandalay (ESCAP news) – Future scenarios of drought in many parts of South-East Asia may become even more frequent and intense if actions are not taken now to build resilience, according to the latest joint study by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission...
Ambitions are affordable for Asia and the Pacific
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana Three years of implementation of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific shows the region has some catching up to do. Despite much progress, the region is not on track to reach the 17 Sustainable Development Goalsset out in the United Nations2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We...
Put People and Planet First, says UN report for Asia and the Pacific
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is within reach, but more strategic investments are needed Hong Kong, China (ESCAP News) – In its annual report, Survey 2019: Ambitions beyond growth, launched today, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) – the UN’s regional arm – says that an additional annual investment of $1.5...
Lapis Lazuli Corridor – Part 6
UNESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) plays an active role in Central Asia. Ms. Azthar Djaymurrina, the head of the transport facilitation and logistics section of UNESCAP delivered an important speech at the conference dedicated to the Lapis Lazuli Corridor. Here is the text of her speech: Your excellency,...
Going full circle for growth and the planet
LI Yong, UNIDO Director General and Hongjoo Hahm, Officer-in-Charge, ESCAP The business case for making our economy more sustainable is clear. Globally, transitioning to a circular economy – where materials are reused, re-manufactured or recycled-could significantly reduce carbon emissions and deliver over US$1 trillion in material cost savings by 2025. The benefits for Asia and...
Fighting inequality in Asia and the Pacific
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar Inequality is increasing in Asia and the Pacific. Our region’s remarkable economic success story belies a widening gap between rich and poor. A gap that’s trapping people in poverty and, if not tackled urgently, could thwart our ambition to achieve sustainable development. This is the central challenge heads of state and government...
Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific 2018
Mobilizing finance for sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth Dr. Shamshad Akhtar Asia and the Pacific remains the engine of the global economy. It continues to power trade, investment and jobs the world over. Two thirds of the region’s economies grew faster in 2017 than the previous year and the trend is expected to continue...
Towards Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Asia and the Pacific
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar In 2017, Asia and the Pacific will be home to 62 million international migrants. That’s a population larger than the Republic of Korea’s. Even more people from our region – over 100 million–live outside their countries of birth. At the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)...
Ministerial Summit on Environment – Towards a Resource Efficient and Pollution Free Asia-Pacific
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar and Erik Solheim Senior government officials from across Asia and the Pacific will meet in Bangkok this week for the first-ever Asia-Pacific Ministerial Summit on the Environment. The high-level meeting is co-convened by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and UN Environment and is...
Building on seventy years of success
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) marks its 70th anniversary this year. This is a rare opportunity for the oldest and largest of the United Nations regional commissions to take stock of past achievements, but also to spotlight where efforts need to be concentrated to...
Economic stability in Asia and the Pacific provides opportunities to make progress on productivity and inclusiveness
Dr.Shamshad Akhtar Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy, lacklustre trade growth, and uncertainty in major economies, countries of the Asia-Pacific region continued to push ahead at an estimated 4.9per cent in 2016. Indeed, it is encouraging to note that the region continues to lead in global economic growth, mainly bolstered by the ongoing...