INTERREGIONAL WORKSHOP ON DEVELOPMENT FINANCING CONCLUDES IN BANGKOK
Press Release
DEV/2165
INTERREGIONAL WORKSHOP ON DEVELOPMENT FINANCING CONCLUDES IN BANGKOK
19970707 NEW YORK, 2 July (DDSMS) -- A three-day interregional workshop on development project financing -- jointly organized by the Department for Development Support and Management Services (DDSMS), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and Chulalongkorn University of Thailand -- concluded in Bangkok on 27 June. Among the approximately 50 participants were senior government officials from nine developing countries from Asia, eastern Europe and Africa, representatives of the private sector and of international organizations, as well as academics.The objective of the workshop was to identify the needs for technical cooperation for human resource development and institution building for effectively undertaking large-scale development projects with private sector participation in project formulation, financing and operation.
Under the main theme of "Public-Private Partnership", participants held an extensive exchange of views and information on the major issues of development project financing, including "build-operate-transfer" (BOT) and other similar financing schemes. Thematic and country reports were presented on the basis of actual experiences of participants. Those reports were discussed with a view to reconciling different opinions and positions of host governments, private investors, and other participating organizations.
Among issues under discussion were the concept and practice of BOT, the fundamental reasons for utilizing such financing schemes, project priority setting, legal and regulatory framework and procedures for dispute resolution, training of government personnel, as well as the benefits and limitations both to host governments and private investors. Participants also examined criteria for the formulation and implementation of viable projects, as well as the critical importance of establishing a system to ensure continuity of decision-making and supervision of project activities.
Among the workshop's conclusions was a call for the strengthening of international and regional cooperation, as well as for ways and means for consolidating the cooperation between governments and relevant United Nations agencies. There was also a call for United Nations agencies to play a pivotal role to assist countries in the formulation of policies and strategies to maximize the advantages of "Public-Private Partnerships" for financing large- scale development projects.
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