ASIA-PACIFIC NATIONS REVIEW PROGRESS ON SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT AT UN-BACKED
FORUM New York, Mar 15 2012 6:05PM Senior officials from over 30
Asia-Pacific nations are meeting at a United Nations-backed forum in Bangkok
to review progress towards a sustainable and efficient regional transport
network.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the “commitment to making sustainable,
effective and efficient transport in the Asia-Pacific region a reality for
all,” in his message to the second session of the Ministerial Conference on
Transport.
Access is the heart of this conference: access to work, to markets and
shops, to schools and colleges, to family and friends, to hospitals and
sports facilities, he added in the
message, which was
read out by the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Noeleen Heyzer.
“Yet too many people are still waiting for the road or rail track that will
lead to a brighter future,” Mr. Ban noted. “Industry leaders are still
waiting for transport measures that will enhance competitiveness. The region
as a whole is still waiting for full physical and institutional connectivity
between the subregions.”
Noting the ever-growing role of the transport sector in achieving the
anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), he
urged Asia-Pacific countries “to reduce transport costs and link high- and
low-growth countries in corridors of prosperity.”
The two-day meeting, convened by ESCAP, is evaluating implementation of the
Busan Declaration, which was adopted by the first session of the Ministerial
Conference on Transport held in the Republic of Korea in 2006.
The Declaration calls for improved regional transport connectivity by
linking countries in the region with an integrated intermodal transport and
logistics system. Progress so far has seen the entry into force of the
Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network in June 2009.
Participants are sharing information on national transport strategies and
initiatives, as well as activities undertaken within the framework of the
first phase of the Regional Action Programme for Transport Development which
ended last year.
The conference will adopt the second phase of the Regional Action Programme
for Transport Development to be implemented between 2012 and 2016, as well
as a regional strategic framework for facilitation of international road
transport, as part of a ministerial declaration to be issued, reaffirming
commitment to regional cooperation in transport development.
It is also expected to issue a ministerial declaration reaffirming
commitment to regional cooperation in transport development and a regional
strategic framework for facilitation of international road transport.
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For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news