Bangkok--24 Mar--UNISBKK How is the neglect of agriculture condemning 600 million people to poverty? What is the impact of the US subprime crisis on Asia and the Pacific? Which Asian economies will be hit hardest by the subprime crisis? What defensive actions can they take? Why has global financial power shifted to Asia? How are biofuels affecting record food prices in Asia? These are just some of the questions that the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) addresses in the latest issue of its flagship publication, the Economic and Social Survey for Asia and the Pacific 2008. The Survey will be launched in Thailand on Thursday, 27 March, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. at: The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT), Penthouse, Maneeya Center, 518/5 Ploenchit Road Patumwan, Bangkok, 10330 This year’s Survey, entitled “Sustaining Growth and Sharing Prosperity,” says 218 million — a third of the region’s poor, largely living in rural areas — could be lifted out of poverty by raising agricultural productivity if governments address decades of policy neglect and failure in the agricultural sector. The Survey also calls for a comprehensive liberalization of global trade in agriculture, as this would take a further 48 million people out of poverty in the region. This year’s issue marks the 60th anniversary of the Survey, first published in Shanghai in May 1948, which examines the region’s key short- and medium-term prospects and challenges in macroeconomic and selected social areas, and explores critical long-term development issues relevant to all developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. ESCAP’s Deputy Executive Secretary, Shigeru Mochida, and Shamika N. Sirimanne, the lead author from ESCAP’s Poverty and Development Division, will present the Survey. Note to editors: You or your representatives are cordially invited to attend the launch of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2008 at 1000 hrs on Thursday, 27 March 2008 at FCCT, Bangkok. For more information, please contact: Ari Gaitanis, UN Information Services, ESCAPTel.: +66-2-288-1862, Fax: +66-2-288-1052, Email: [email protected] Headquartered in Bangkok, ESCAP is the largest of the UN's five Regional Commissions in terms of its membership, population served and area covered. The only intergovernmental forum covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, ESCAP works to promote sustainable and inclusive economic and social progress. More information is available at www.unescap.org. United Nations Information Services Bangkok United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Rajadamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: (+66-2) 288-1861-9 Fax: (+66-2) 288-1052 E-mail: [email protected]