2 June 2015
ESCAP 71 Establishes Energy Committee, Disaster Information Centre
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The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) adopted 14 resolutions at its 71st session, including agreement to promote transport and information and communications technology (ICT) links, establish a centre to share and manage disaster information, and create a Committee on Energy.

UNESCAP29 May 2015: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) adopted 14 resolutions at its 71st session, including agreement to promote transport and information and communications technology (ICT) links, establish a centre to share and manage disaster information, and create a Committee on Energy.

The session was organized on the theme of ‘Balancing the three dimensions of sustainable development: from integration to implementation,’ and comprised a two-day ministerial segment from 28-29 May, following three days of senior officials’ meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, on 25-27 May. Delegates focused on issues related to sustainable development, including discussion of ESCAP support for small island developing States (SIDS) and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs).

An ESCAP press release notes that the 71st Commission session featured the largest attendance of Pacific Heads of State and Government in recent history, among over 550 participants from 50 Member States. Delegates took part in an exchange with a panel of Pacific ministers on implementation of the ‘SAMOA Pathway,’ the outcome of the Third International Conference on SIDS held in 2014.

In opening remarks, ESCAP Executive Secretary Shamshad Akhtar called on delegates to take action to: enhance domestic markets; pursue inclusive growth; drive structural reforms; strengthen regional partnerships; and address inequalities of gender, income and the urban-rural divide.

Outcomes of the meeting included agreement to: cooperate on strategies for maritime transport, railways and ICT infrastructure; establish a Committee on Energy to promote energy security and greater use of sustainable energy resources; and set up an ESCAP regional institution in Iran: the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management.

The session outcomes will feed into the upcoming meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD 3), and the UN Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda. [ESCAP Press Release, 28 May] [ESCAP Press Release, 29 May] [Meeting Documents]


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