UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 09 February 2010 - Port Vila, Vanuatu - The worldwide financial crises and as well as natural disasters for the Pacific islands compounded by high costs of food and fuel and ways to manage these crises were the subject of high-level meetings this week that included representatives of 14 Pacific islands and organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), here today that included Ministers and senior officials from Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The meetings today included an address by Anote Tong, the President of Kiribati. In her keynote address, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP stated, "Pacific Island economies are vulnerable for a number of reasons.  "They are isolated, small in size, lacking in resources, subject to a high frequency of natural disasters and vulnerable to rising sea-levels. "In order to move forward, we must first understand the social, economic and environmental impacts these new risks and vulnerabilities have had on the region.  "With this knowledge we can then develop appropriate strategies for recovery and long-term plans for sustainable development" said Dr. Heyzer. The meetings focused attention on the Mauritius Strategy for Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (MSI) – a blueprint adopted by 129 countries in 2005. Among the implementation strategies of the MSI adopted today included a statement calling on the international community to honour its commitments as well as the adoption of green economic growth policies and improved implementation mechanisms and improved budget allocation. “External assistance, through development aid, debt relief and foreign investment, is needed to support the Pacific on its path to equitable economic growth,” said Dr. Heyzer. The three-day Pacific Conference will continue tomorrow with Helen Clark, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and chairperson of the UN Development Group, joining Dr. Heyzer to discuss the Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis.  In May 2010, the outcomes of this meeting will by presented to the ESCAP Commission session in Incheon, Republic of Korea, and to the 18th session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).  The CSD is Preparatory Committee to the high-level MSI review meeting that will take place during the United Nations General Assembly in New York to be held in late September and October. For further information please visit www.unescap.org/EPOC/, or contact: Mr. Iosefa Maiava, Head of ESCAP Pacific Office, Email: maiavai@un.org

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