Regional Forum on Least Developed Countries Discusses Energy and Migration

15 May 2007: Almaty

Energy security and international migration are the two issues discussed at a special Asia-Pacific regional forum on least developed countries (LDCs) and landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) which opened today in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The two-day meeting is convened by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and comes just ahead of the Commission’s annual high-level session, also to be held in Almaty, 17 – 23 May.

“Access to modern energy sources is low in Asia-Pacific’s LDCs. It is almost non-existent for the poor,” said Kim Hak-Su, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, at the opening of UNESCAP’s Special Body on Least Developed and Landlocked Developing Countries. “We need policies to help improve access for the poor through inter-country energy cooperation.”

“Energy is extremely important in the context of poverty reduction”, said Mr. Serik Akhmetov, Minister of Transport and Communications, Kazakhstan. He told the meeting that “Central Asia has a considerable potential for developing energy cooperation for building regional energy infra-structure.”

The issue of international migration will also be explored in terms of challenges and opportunities for LDCs and LLDCs. One third of the 190 million international migrants in 2005 were from this region: 53 million from Asia and 5 million from the Pacific.

“The safety and well-being of migrants in destination countries are a major concern to their countries of origin. International migration agreements are tools for managing the interests of all parties,” said Mr. Kim.

“Being a country of destination, transit and origin, Kazakhstan pays special attention to addressing the issues of illegal, ethnic and labour migration and to protection of migrants’ rights”, said Mr. Akhmetov. The growing economy of Kazakhstan is attracting increasing number of migrants from neighbouring Central Asian countries. “We believe that well-managed migration is mutually beneficial and has a great potential for development of destination, transit and origin countries”, he continued.

Asia-Pacific has the second largest number of LDCs after Africa – 14 out of a global total of 50. It also has 12 LLDCs – four of them are also LDCs. These 22 countries are a primary source of migrant workers. The remittances sent home by migrant workers could play an important role in boosting the economies of LDCs and LLDCs. At the Special Body meeting, delegates from UNESCAP’s 62 member governments will discuss how to better harness remittances, and how to better protect migrant workers with international agreements. The meeting is also a regional follow-up to a high-level meeting on migration and development held by the General Assembly of the UN in New York last September.

The Special Body, set up by UNESCAP in 1980s, meets once every two years alongside the annual Commission session. The Almaty meeting is its eighth session.

Link: UNESCAP