Alatas to open ESCAP meeting
Alatas to open ESCAP meeting
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas will open a steering group meeting of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on Monday.
The meeting will discuss infrastructure development and the economic condition of the region.
The four-day meeting of the Steering Group of the Commission's Committee for Regional Economic Cooperation will be held at the foreign ministry office and attended by senior officials and experts from the Commission's 48 member-countries.
The United Nations established the Commission in 1947 under the name of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). In 1974 its name was changed to its current form.
A further focus of discussion during the meeting will be identifying particular economic sectors capable of luring direct foreign investment to the region. It is expected that the meeting will also seek to formulate an overall analysis of the current economic condition of the region.
Among ESCAP's 48-members there are five non-regional members -- Britain, France, the Netherlands, Russia and the United States.
The Commission also has 10 associate members, including non- self governing territories in the region such as Guam and American Samoa.
Based in Bangkok, Thailand, much of ESCAP's work is in the areas of environmentally-sustainable development, poverty alleviation through economic growth and social development in the context of regional cooperation.
Indonesia's hosting of the steering group meeting comes at an important juncture in light of the strong emphasis currently being placed on infrastructure development to support nation's growth.
The findings of the meeting be forwarded to the ESCAP regional committee meeting in Bangkok on Feb. 8-9, which is a prelude to the 51st ESCAP meeting on April 24.
In a statement released yesterday the foreign ministry also referred to the possibility of using the cooperation within ESCAP as a framework to be emulated in the North-South dialog.
"The ESCAP steering group meeting in Jakarta can be a barometer of commitment to economic cooperation among member countries, which have varying levels of economic growth," the statement said.
Following on the theme of infrastructure development, delegates will examine the facilities at North Jakarta's Tanjung Priok harbor on Thursday.(mds)