Bangkok--5 Sep--UN
The head of the United Nations Economic and SocialCommission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has called for greaterintegration of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region to support
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, at theEastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok today.
In her keynote speech, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ExecutiveSecretary of ESCAP Dr. Shamshad Akhtar highlighted how the extensivenatural resources, including the renewable energy potential in Russia's FarEast, can serve the growing requirements of the Asia-Pacific region and
offer attractive business and trade opportunities.
"The special economic zones in the Far East will attract foreign companiesand investment from Asia, which in turn can benefit Russia's proposal for afree trade agreement with ASEAN," explained Dr. Akhtar.
ESCAP is currently working to support these processes by fostering seamlessconnectivity across Asian road, rail and maritime corridors, enhancingtrade through the new Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross BorderPaperless Trade, and developing soft infrastructure to enable domestic
resources and financial markets to better link the Eurasian Corridor andthe Far East with Asia-Pacific.
Dr. Akhtar noted that ESCAP is also taking a more holistic, integrated andsustainable approach to energy connectivity.
"A move away from segmented to more holistic and sustainable energy systemhas the potential to exploit competitively the energy endowments of theRussian Far East in order to meet Asia's energy deficits," stressed Dr.Akhtar.
The annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok is organized by theRussian Federation to promote the accelerated development of the economy ofEastern Russia and expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacificregion.