Re-vitalizing regionalism

However, Asia-Pacific development is ambivalent, and far from smooth sailing. Yet, the region might play an exemplary role in implementing the 17 SDGs, which require not only the hard work of all developing countries, but also the good faith of the developed countries in various negotiations for honoring their commitments under the current amplified expectations.

With a population greater than the rest of the whole world combined, ESCAP members and associate members are expected to take an active part in a more productive and sustainable intra-regional and inter-regional cooperation and increase political and security consultations in fighting the terrible phenomenon of terrorism and other global threats.

The 62 ESCAP members and associate members have the real potential to develop fruitful partnerships based on equality and mutual benefit. Their destination is well defined: a world of stability, well-being, peace, responsiveness and order, animated by a full and pro-active solidarity. In their multifaceted efforts Asian-Pacific peoples have solid reasons to cultivate a moderate optimism. However, their optimism can be legitimate only if the foundations on which it rests are in harmony with the formidable requirements of a new era of global responsibilities.

As ASEAN celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it should be recalled that ESCAP has been a permanent strategic partner of this regional institution. These intergovernmental regional institutions are able to promote complementarity between the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). They should over the next decade meaningfully assist in narrowing national as well as intra-regional gaps, by creating balanced urban growth, mitigating climate change consequences and adapting to its effects, being guided in this process by the AEC 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda. An interesting and promising example in the area of disaster response was already offered by the rapid reaction to Cyclone Nargis which struck Myanmar in 2008. ESCAP and ASEAN cooperated in facilitating the flow of immediate humanitarian assistance and in helping during the post-disaster recovery phase. This successful partnership was further developed in 2011 with ESCAP's support for the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management.

Scrutinizing the future

There is no doubt that with the establishment of the forward-looking ASEAN Vision 2025 and the generous objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, the collaboration between ESCAP and ASEAN has good chances to be further improved in the near future and contribute to giving more credibility to the strategic significance of regionalism.

UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar highlighted that ESCAP has, over the years, reformed and reinvented itself to serve the needs of the region, finding multilateral solutions to regional problems. "With unwavering commitment to UN principles, we promote multilateralism, inclusiveness and openness, and these principles are still pertinent today as we look to the future and address growing inequalities."

Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, General Tanasak Patimapragorn emphasized Thailand's ongoing commitment to support the work of ESCAP, noting that through 70 years of partnership, remarkable success has been achieved in economic growth and social development, while acknowledging that many challenges still remain, including inequality, climate change and natural and man-made disasters.

Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Mr. Enele Sosene Sopoaga, who was elected Chairman of the ESCAP's 73^rd session, stated that the greatest challenge of our time is indeed climate change, particularly for vulnerable island countries like Tuvalu, and that the 2030 Agenda cannot be achieved, unless this issue is effectively addressed. He stressed that the challenges of climate change, energy security and ocean degradation, are too difficult, if not impossible for individual countries to address, and that ESCAP provides a significant platform to support regional and international cooperation in these important fields.

The current world is characterized by global vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities affecting global , regional and inter-regional cooperation in all fields. Many elements of instability and unpredictability have a negative impact on international arena and on its actors.

Under such unfavorable circumstances, many states are trying to find workable solutions to their major problems not at the global, but at the regional level. They find merits in promoting open regionalism based on fundamental values proclaimed by the UN.

In 1947 ESCAP was created to help Asia-Pacific region to recover from war and conflict. Official assessments converge in asserting that this region's growth since then has been remarkable. However, if poverty and inequality are still obvious realities in this area , ESCAP's complex mandate remains highly topical for the future in order to make sustainable development a success story for the generations to come in Asia and the Pacific area.