UN gathers Asia and Pacific countries to better rebound from global economic crisis

May 14th, 2010 - 12:13 am ICT by BNO News  

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) – A United Nations (UN) meeting is gathering Asian and Pacific countries to coordinate strategies to fight the global economic crisis.

The week-long annual session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific began Thursday in Incheon, Korea, where ministers and top officials from around the region are congregating to ensure the region’s first steps to stimulate sustainable growth and recover from the economic crisis.

The event, entitled “Financing an Inclusive and Green Future,” according to Noeleen Heyzer, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Executive Secretary, is focused on two key challenges; “our ability to harness the economic recovery under way in Asia and the Pacific today, and to seek to sustain this growth through a concerted effort by governments across the region to adopt ‘Green Growth’ and clean technology development to improve the lives of our region’s people.”

“It is time to move from individual country strengths to collective regional strengths; to introduce balance back into our economic and social order; to develop common regional positions and solutions to global problems; to address the disparities in our region; to value the gifts of our Earth,” Heyzer said.

Just last week an annual ESCAP report called on regional governments to develop social programs that will not only benefit economic growth, but will also help the people most affected by the global financial crisis. Heyzer emphasized that the economic rebound must, “directly benefit people hardest hit by the crisis, act to reduce poverty, and create a more sustainable economy.”

The Asia-Pacific region is counts for nearly two-thirds of all people in the world, and even at the down point of the economic crisis, the region maintained itself as the fastest-growing region in the world. A 2010 forecast is expecting the region’s developing economies to expand by seven percent, with China leading the growth with 9.5 percent.

These meetings are focused to ensure that the region’s continuing growth does not lose momentum. The meeting’s high-level segment will begin on 17 May, and top officials from countries including the Republic of Korea, Bangladesh and Vanuatu, are expected to attend.

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