Official Statements:

Statement by Marat Tazhin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic Kazakhstan, at the senior officials’ segment of the sixty-third session of ESCAP (Almaty, 17 May 2007)

«Esteemed Mr. Under-Secretary-General,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour and privilege for me to open the senior officials’ segment of the sixty-third session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

I would like to thank ESCAP Executive Secretary Mr. Kim Hak-Su for his generous words addressed to my country and the Government of Kazakhstan. In this regard, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the head of ESCAP and all its Member States for their trust in Kazakhstan, as reflected in the decision to hold the sixty-third session of the Commission in Almaty.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to express our appreciation to the ESCAP secretariat for timely preparation of quality session documentation. I would like to note well-coordinated work of Member States delegations during consultations over the recent months in Bangkok on draft decisions of the sixty-third session of ESCAP. A lot of work has been done and today we are presented with an excellent opportunity to finalize the documents under consideration and adopt them officially at the end of the session.»

Esteemed Mr. Under-Secretary-General,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

The current annual session of ESCAP is being convened in the year of the Commission’s anniversary. Six decades that have passed since 1947 have transformed Asia and the Pacific from, basically, a raw material appendage of the world economy into its powerful driving force. These unprecedented changes in the region have taken place with active involvement of ESCAP and thanks to its tireless efforts to boost cooperation among regional states in the area of economic and social development. I would like to emphasize the role of ESCAP Member States, which effectively used the opportunities provided by the Commission to seek joint solutions of development issues even during the most difficult times marred by confrontation between the blocs.

Today, as the world faces new challenges and the pitfalls of globalization, it is in our interests not only to continue to take advantage of these opportunities but also to expand them and strengthen the ties of partnership and cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of our region.

The main theme of the current session is development of health systems in the context of enhancing economic growth towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific.

The selection of this theme allows us to focus on a variety of other concerns of Asia and the Pacific. One of the priority issues among them is the comprehensive strengthening of health systems in order to ensure access to a basic package of health services for the population.

Distinguished participants,

On 12 April 2006, ESCAP adopted resolution 62/1, which, among other things, requested the Executive Secretary to develop recommendations for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Asia and the Pacific in the form of a regional road map. We are pleased to note that the road map is available to you among other session documents. Since its final text will be drafted with due consideration of the Commissions’ comments, including those made at the current session, it is important that as many delegations as possible submit their proposals and recommendations regarding its substance.

But even at this stage, a quick look at the road map gives one an opportunity to note that it is a well-structured paper designed to ensure required annual follow-up and evaluation of its implementation.

Development issues should remain among priority items in the agenda of the United Nations and most of the organizations within its system, including ESCAP.

The timely and full realization of the development goals and targets, including the Millennium Development Goals, is possible only through a firm commitment by United Nations Member States to global partnerships at the international and regional levels.

The full and timely implementation of decisions and recommendations contained in the outcome documents of the multilateral forums, held over the last seven years in Monterrey, Johannesburg, Brussels, Almaty and Mauritius, is instrumental for the efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals.

Kazakhstan is committed to its undertakings regarding the Millennium Development Goals and works consistently to implement its own long-term strategies – “Kazakhstan 2030” and “Strategic Plan 2010”. The Government’s main objective in the area of economic policies is to make the list of the world’s top 50 most competitive economies, within the next ten years.

Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to express our gratitude to ESCAP Member States for supporting the holding of an intergovernmental forum within the framework of annual sessions of the Commission – the Special Body for Least Developed and Landlocked Developing Countries. The Special Body’s sessions are useful and necessary for addressing important concerns shared by that group of countries.

The international community cannot be indifferent to the problems faced by these countries, most of which are located in Asia and the Pacific.

The Brussels Program of Action has established an effective framework for the efforts to cut in half the number of people living in poverty in least developed countries through timely implementation of seven internationally recognized commitments.

The root of the problems of landlocked developing countries lies in their remoteness from world markets, inadequate transportation infrastructure and numerous barriers for transit traffic.

As the largest inland state in the world, Kazakhstan has a vested interest in the effective implementation of the Almaty Program of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries, whose provisions call for specific steps to assist that category of countries in their integration into the world economy. You will remember that the Program was adopted in August 2003, here in this room, at the first United Nations ministerial conference that addressed the issues faced by landlocked developing countries.

Seeking solutions to the problems of middle-income countries is a no less important challenge. Kazakhstan supports the call made at a United Nations conference in Madrid last March for the provision of assistance to those countries in their efforts to address poverty. Middle-income countries have a good development capacity and are in a position to make an important contribution to South-South cooperation, including through the transfer of knowledge and technology.

For Kazakhstan, issues related to the implementation of the United Nations Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), developed in 1997 as a response to the initiative of our country, constitute a priority area of ESCAP activities at the regional level. Currently, ESCAP and the European Economic Commission play an important coordinating role in that matter.

SPECA's mission is to expand and deepen cooperation among the states of Central Asia and the Caucasus. In our view, due to their geographic location and transit capacity, SPECA projects in the area of transit and energy might be of great importance for the whole region of Asia and the Pacific.

It is absolutely clear that as a large regional commission, ESCAP should continue the reform process to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its work and to achieve tangible results for the benefit of the peoples of Asia and the Pacific. That task is becoming even more relevant in the context of the follow-up to the 2005 United Nations World Summit.

Distinguished delegates,

ESCAP plays an important role in the work of the United Nations. It is a regional promoter of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, a think tank and a disseminator of information about the Organization's activities. In the year of its 60th anniversary, we can safely claim that the Commission has achieved spectacular results, having turned into an important regional forum that provides an opportunity to discuss development agenda of our region and to identify the prospects of its continued advancement.

Further expansion of regional and sub-regional cooperation and provision of assistance to the states of Asia and the Pacific in the area of development constitute an important mission of ESCAP. Kazakhstan values highly the role of the Commission in the solution of these problems and is ready for further active cooperation with ESCAP in all areas of its work. Finally, let me wish all the participants success in their work at the sixty-third session of ESCAP.

Thank you for your attention.

Date of issue: 2007-05-17