Shun-ichi Murata Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP

1. Inter-regional Cooperation and the Post 2015 Development Agenda: Perspectives from Asia and the Pacific Shun-ichi Murata Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP

2. UN Charter Article 55: The United Nations shall promote: • Higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development; • Solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation, and; • Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. Article 56: All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55.

3. Rise of Asia-Pacific Source: Economic and Social Surveys of Asia and the Pacific

4. Most dynamic region Real GDP growth by regions of the world a: Members of the Economic Commission Europe

5. The South rises

6. South-South trade + other exchanges rising with growing synergies

7. Developing Africa’s exports Inter-regional South-South trade has also expanded rapidly in recent years

8. Share of Outward FDI Flows from Developing Countries in Global FDI Flows Vibrant South-South trade in services and investment flows

9. Rising South-South development assistance

10. Rising South-South potential for financial cooperation

11. Institutions for cooperation Global level country groupings • Non-aligned Movement and G-77+China • g7+ Group of Fragile States • BRICS Country groupings in Asia and the Pacific • ASEAN • SAARC • Economic Cooperation Organization • Shanghai Cooperation Organization • Pacific Islands Forum Challenge for ESCAP and other regional commissions • Building on the existing efforts in South-South cooperation • Fostering cooperation and coordinated action among sub-regional groupings, particularly in the context of the UN post-2015 Development Agenda

12. Development challenges Economic insecurity • 828 million people live on less than $1.25 a day • About 900 million live on between $1.25 and $2 a day • 563 million are undernourished • 1.1 billion are in vulnerable employment Unsustainable use of natural resources • Adverse environmental impacts • Increased emissions of greenhouse gases • Volatility in commodity prices Lack of investment in infrastructure • Energy, transport and virtual connectivity, urban development • Financing requirement for the region is $ 8 trillion. Vulnerability to natural disasters • Asia-Pacific accounted for 80% of global losses due to disasters in 2011

13. The challenge of inequality

14. The challenge of connectivity • Many Asia-Pacific-wide agreements contribute to increasing physical connectivity • Major challenges of connectivity are in energy, water, communication and people-to-people • Key issue for Pacific Island Countries and Landlocked developing countries of Central Asia • “Regional Connectivity for Shared Prosperity” is the theme of the Commission session in 2014 • Connectivity is a key determinant of trade and economic development, and of regional and inter-regional cooperation

15. ESCAP and the Post-2015 Development Agenda Assisting countries in setting a Post-2015 Agenda • Stock-taking: assess progress towards internationally agreed goals, including MDGs • Organizing inclusive high-level consultations at the regional and subregional levels Means of implementation • Development and implementation of regional agreements on: exchange of experiences, technology transfer, regional integration and financing of development • Providing evidence-based policy options • Complementing and connecting global and country-level programmes of the United Nations • Regional approaches to technical cooperation

16. Challenges for interregional cooperation • High trade costs of inter-regional trade because of geographical distance and poor connectivity, tariff and non-tariff barriers • Few preferential arrangements to promote interregional trade • The need to devise means for exploiting full potential of South-South Cooperation • Danger of replicating centre-periphery type of economic relations between more advanced developing countries and LDCs

17. Towards a policy framework for South-South cooperation A policy framework is needed for: • Institutional promotion of inter-regional trade and investments • Implementing GSTP Sao Paolo Round • Extending the coverage and scope • Extending the scope of GSTP to trade in service • South-South investment promotion and protection to facilitate FDI flows • Special promotion of greenfield South-South FDI flows in LDCs • Adoption of Duty-Free Quota-Free (DFQF)schemes for LDCs to enable them to export value-added products • Exchanging good practices in South-South cooperation • Developing a set of voluntary guidelines to shape South-South investments and economic relations in an equitable and sustainable manner • Major emerging countries leading by example in terms of good practices

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