Prime Minister Imran Khan is to be among the key speakers at the opening of the annual session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) on Monday.
Heads of state and government, senior officials, and other stakeholders from across the Asia-Pacific region will discuss regional perspectives, initiatives, and subregional cooperation for scaled-up actions in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and take stock of its socio-economic impact.
The seventy-seventh session of ESCAP will be held virtually from April 26 to 29 under the theme, “Building back better from crises through regional cooperation in Asia and the Pacific”. It will also review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly in the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and the Pacific island.
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The live stream can be watched on YouTube at the following link.
According to Dawn, a Pakistani PM will speak at the annual UN-ESCAP session for the first time. According to the list of speakers announced by UN-ESCAP, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, presidents of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council Munir Akram will also address the Escap session.
South Asian Economies had been poised to become the world’s economic backbone as the countries continued to make strides in different social and economic indicators. However, according to recent reports by organizations like ILO, World Bank, and UNICEF, South Asian economies including Pakistan’s are under recession.
According to the UN, “The pandemic and resulting economic crisis have ravaged South Asia, the former growth champion, and turned it into the worst-performing economic region.” The report mentions that the countries’ populations are sliding back into poverty and the “progress on many other Sustainable Development Goals has been reversed.”
The vulnerabilities of healthcare and policymaking have been revealed in Pakistan and India, with both facing dwindling resource availability compared to the population sizes. The economy of the region went from a 3.1 percent growth rate in 2019 to -8.6 percent in 2020.
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UN, in its report, labeled ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ suggests that South Asian economies achieve, “resilience to external shocks should be among the most important considerations within the decision framework for policymakers in South Asia who are currently rethinking their industrial policies.”
