Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP visited the United Nations Asian and Pacific Centre for Agricultural Engineering and Machinery (APCAEM) on 21 January 2008. It was Ms. Heyzer’s first visit to China since becoming the Ninth Executive Secretary of ESCAP in August 2007.

Ms. Heyzer met with all APCAEM staff. In her opening remarks, the Executive Secretary indicated that investment in agricultural technology for rural development is important and APCAEM can become the Centre for regional South-South cooperation and innovation within the purview of its mandate. Mr. Joong-Wan Cho, Head / Senior Economic Affairs Officer of the Centre delivered a presentation on the Work Plan for 2008-09 and Recommendations. The Executive Secretary responded that the Centre’s work programme should be more focused, clear and integrated in the context of ecologically sustainable agricultural/rural development.

The Executive Secretary also had a working luncheon meeting with the Heads of the UN Country Team and bilateral donors in Beijing, organized by the UN Resident Coordinator and APCAEM.

Based in Beijing, UN-APCAEM is a regional institution/subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok. For more information about the Centre, please visit http://www.unapcaem.org.