Remote and underdeveloped Pacific countries need more attention from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), according to an informal consultative meeting held here on Friday in the framework of the ongoing UNESCAP's 62nd conference.

Meanwhile, UNESCAP Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su said small islands in the Pacific were in desperate need of UNESCAP attention because their economic potentials were also small.

"Therefore, they need transfer of technology from countries on the Asian continent," Kim Hak-Su said, adding that Pacific countries had a lot of coconut trees and copra but lacked the technology to process coconut oil.

Besides transfer of technology, Kim said, Pacific island countries also need training on government capacity building.

"Samoa, one of the Pacific countries, has complained about vulnerability index and asked that UNESCAP pay more attention to the matter," Antara news agency quoted Kim as saying.

He also acknowledged that Asia and the Pacific were getting less attention from a number of international donor organizations compared with African countries.

UNESCAP supported the efforts of several regional organizations to boost economic growth in developing Asia and Pacific countries, he said. Significant economic growth would most likely promote the welfare of the people in the region, he added. However, a political stability was also one of the prerequisites for economic growth, he said.

The 62nd Session of UNESCAP opened here on Thursday morning. The ministerial level meeting, which will last until April 12, is attended by 62 delegations representing 53 member countries of ESCAP and six associate members.

The Commission Session is under the theme of "Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Infrastructure Development, including Related Disaster Management".

The participants will discuss infrastructure development focusing on four main sectors, namely, energy, information technology, transportation and water treatment.

Source: Xinhua