Dr. Joong-Wan CHO attended the sixty-third session of the Commission session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 17-23 May 2007. This annual session was held in Central Asia for the first time since the founding of UNESCAP in March, 1947 in Shanghai, China.

The Commission reviewed the work of the UNESCAP regional institutions, including APCAEM. In his introduction, the Executive Secretary of UNESCAP informed the Commission that the programmes of work of the regional institutions were now an integral component of the strategic framework and programme of work of UNESCAP for the biennium 2006-2007.

A number of delegations to the Commission session indicated that they had attached great importance to the programme of work of APCAEM, and had benefited from the expertise and knowledge provided through seminars and workshops organized by the Centre, especially in the areas of agro-export competitiveness and access to regional markets through the promotion of trade fairs. The host country delegation expressed its satisfaction with the work of the Centre and stated that it would continue to provide support to the Centre, and would consider providing permanent office premises.

The Executive Secretary expressed satisfaction that the secretariat’s efforts during the past years, aimed at revitalizing the regional institutions of UNESCAP, had begun to yield concrete results. The programmes of work of the regional institutions had become more closely aligned with the priorities of the Commission and were now fully integrated within the biennial programme of work of UNESCAP. Further, funding resources for some regional institutions had become more diversified. The Executive Secretary expressed his intention to transfer more technical cooperation projects from UNESCAP headquarters to the regional institutions in order that those institutions could better serve as operational arms of UNESCAP.