외교부

Statement

by

H.E. Cho Jung-pyo

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade

of the Republic of Korea

at the 63rd Session

The Economic and Social Commission for

Asia and the Pacific

May 21, 2007

Almaty

Mr. Chairman,

Executive Secretary Dr. Kim Hak-Su,

Honorable Ministers, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to begin by extending my sincere congratulations to you, Mr. Chairman, on assuming the chairmanship of the 63rd Session of ESCAP. My delegation has every confidence that under your able guidance this meeting will yield fruitful results.

Our sincere thanks go to Dr. Kim Hak-Su, the Executive Secretary, as well as the ESCAP Secretariat, whose tireless work has enabled the membership to successfully prepare for this Commission Session. I would also like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to the Kazakhstan government for the warm hospitality extended to us and for the splendid arrangements made for this Session.

Mr. Chairman.

This year's Commission is all the more meaningful as in 2007 we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of ESCAP. Over the last six decades, the Asia-Pacific region has evidenced great dynamism and achieved remarkable economic growth, overcoming abject poverty. ESCAP's guidance has indeed been valuable in ensuring success in their efforts to achieve, without fail, rapid economic growth. ESCAP and the Member States truly have earned the respect of other regions for this achievement.

In spite of the remarkable contribution of ESCAP to the prosperity and development of the Asia-Pacific Region, it is with mixed feelings that we mark the 60th anniversary of ESCAP. On the one hand, there is much cause for hope. It is the hope of the whole membership that ESCAP will assume a more important role in enhancing economic and social development across the region.

On the other hand, there is some sense of disappointment. It has become painfully clear that ESCAP needs to be strengthened, with far-reaching reforms that are in step with the great challenges of a borderless and fluid world. Between hope and disappointment, I feel very keenly that the hope must triumph over the disappointment and that all of us gathered here will rise to the daunting challenges.  

ESCAP has not overlooked the need to reform itself. We have witnessed a number of successes so far, but much more needs to be done. In this regard, we are of the view that the External Evaluation constitutes a valuable and concrete step which will generate momentum for ESCAP to explore viable ways to revitalize its system.

My delegation also notes the decision to revisit the issue of the ESCAP conference structure next session. This crucial matter should be examined within the context of the wider United Nations reform efforts, which are focusing on the coherent, effective and efficient conduct of activities within the UN system. I look forward to the ESCAP Secretariat proposing more comprehensive and effective solutions on the issue of conference structure at the next session.

Mr. Chairman,

Given the huge disparities in the Asia-Pacific region in levels of economic and social development, nowhere else is there a greater need to achieve the MDGs. Since the UN World Summit held in 2005 adopted concrete and action-oriented recommendations to meet the 2015 targets, coordinated actions among the donor community and developing countries themselves in the region have been taken to accelerate progress in achieving the MDGs.

As we reach the mid-point for the implementation of the MDGs, it is imperative that we carefully reexamine the current situation and come up with additional measures to accomplish the goals. In this regard, the Korean government fully endorses the idea embedded in the draft regional road map. We are convinced that its targeted, time-bound and action-oriented measures will indeed help the off-track countries and those falling below the "Asian average" to attain on-track status.

Among other goals in the MDGs, health is the area requiring our urgent and serious consideration at this point. In our globalized, connected world, infectious diseases can spread with terrifying speed with no respect for borders. They can become pandemic, causing enormous human suffering and threatening the development and security of affected countries and regions.

In this context, the stalemate or retrogress in health-related MDGs in this region is alarming. About 5 million children across the region still die every year before reaching their fifth birthday. Half a million women around the world die as a result of complications in pregnancy and childbirth, half of them in the ESCAP region. The regional incidence of HIV/AIDS continues to rise, and malaria and tuberculosis persist in this region.

The countries of the region must act together to cope with these challenges. For its part, the Korean government is vigorously supporting the activities of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Seoul, which strives to develop and disseminate vaccines most needed in the world's poorest regions. My government is also contributing to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Mr. Chairman,

Recently, ESCAP has initiated several meaningful projects in the field of infrastructure development and information and communication technology. We believe that these areas constitute the very basis for sustainable development in the region. The initiatives have yielded great fruit so far. In this connection, my delegation would like to highlight some significant progress made last year.

Above all, the UN ESCAP Ministerial Conference on Transport held in Busan last November contributed greatly to the laying of a normative foundation in the area of transport. The Busan Declaration on Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific and the Ministerial Declaration on Improving Road Safety in Asia and the Pacific was adopted. Futhermore, the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network was signed by eighteen countries.

It is our earnest hope that through the connection of the railways between South and North on the divided Korean Peninsula the Trans-Asian Railway Network will truly take shape and operate and link the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Another outstanding achievement well worthy of note is the establishment of the Asian and Pacific Training Center for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT) in Incheon, Korea last June. The Center is expected to contribute to the capacity building of Member States in the use of information and communication technology for development.

Mr. Chairman,

The Republic of Korea has always been a strong supporter of ESCAP. We have been eager not only to provide financial and logistical support but also to play a substantial part by offering the benefit of our experience. For this year my government is implementing new initiatives with a view to strengthening our contribution to ESCAP.

First, we are conducting, with the full cooperation of the UNESCAP Secretariat, a comprehensive evaluation of the technical cooperation projects sponsored by the Korea-ESCAP Cooperation Fund (KECF) over two decades. The Korean government has provided approximately 10 million dollars for the Fund since 1987. We believe that the comprehensive evaluation will greatly serve to enhance the effectiveness of future projects sponsored by the Fund, and, then, to enabling the Korean government to make a greater contribution to the Fund.

Second, as a follow-up to the discussions on infrastructure development and infrastructure financing at the sixty-second session, the Korean government will hold the Ministerial Meeting on Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Seoul on 2-5 October this year. We hope that this will offer an opportunity to come up with creative policies to attract private sector investment. Futhermore, the regional issue of international migration will be the focus of insightful analysis at the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum hosted by the ROK Government in June.

Mr. Chairman,

Before closing, allow me to express, on behalf of the Korean government, my heartfelt appreciation to the Executive Secretary, Dr. Kim Hak-Su. The endeavours by ESCAP have proved highly successful under his wise stewardship. Indeed, he has earned wide respect in the international community for the wisdom and leadership he has demonstrated in this role.  

We will remember the keen insight he has displayed in harmonizing the different interests of Member States since he assumed office in 2000. We will cherish also a deep sense of gratitude for all that ESCAP has achieved under his outstanding leadership.

Now the task of continuing his achievement is one that rests in our hands. I reaffirm the Korean government's commitment to continuing to fully support ESCAP in its leading role in achieving economic and social development in the region.

Thank you.  /END/