2004 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY OF ASIA AND PACIFIC LAUNCHED AT HEADQUARTERS PRESS CONFERENCE

2004 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY OF ASIA AND PACIFIC

LAUNCHED AT HEADQUARTERS PRESS CONFERENCE

Developing countries in Asia and the Pacific experienced strong, broad-based growth in 2003 combined with low inflation, according to the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2004, the flagship publication of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia (ESCAP).

The annual Survey was launched this morning at Headquarters by Isikia Rabici Savua, Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations, with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation focusing on the main messages of the Survey, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the ESCAP countries and various policy issues.

Joining him were the Chief of the Regional Commissions Office in New York, Sulafa Al-Bassam, and ESCAP Economist Hiren Sarkar.  What made the Survey interesting, noted Mr. Sarkar, was the extreme heterogeneity of the ESCAP region, which had a mix of big and small countries and varying economic systems.

The report stated that, despite the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) crisis and the war in Iraq, the ESCAP developing region continued to show robust growth in 2003.  The main driving force behind that dynamic performance was intraregional trade and domestic demand.

The collective growth rate in the ESCAP developing countries should continue at the same pace, according to the Survey, while inflation should remain subdued in most parts of the region in 2004, despite rising commodity prices.

Despite strong economic growth in the region, poverty remained a challenge for many countries.  The Survey examined the poverty reduction strategies of some 20 countries in Asia and the Pacific and concluded that more needed to be done to align them more explicitly with the Millennium Development Goals.

For further information, see Press Release REC/152 issued on 8 April or visit www.unescap.org.

* *** *