A meeting of top officials from 14 Pacific Ocean island nations opened in Vanuatu ’s capital city of Port Vila on Feb. 8 to discuss development in the region.
The countries will review and discuss implementation of Mauritius Strategy, the development assistance programme that was adopted by 129 nations in 2005, to help address development challenges facing these island states from 2005 to 2015.
The 14 island nations are particularly vulnerable to climate change , sea-level rise, natural disasters and external economic shocks because of their small size, remoteness from major markets and poverty.
They have been hit particularly hard by the current global financial crisis, which entered during the 2007-2008 regional food and fuel crises.
The two-day meeting was organised by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
UN ESCAP is preparing a regional report to assess the countries’ achievements and this report will be discussed at the 18 th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in preparation for the high-level review meeting of the 64th United Nations General Assembly in New York later this year.
It will also be presented to the ESCAP Commission session to be held in the Republic of Korea this May./.
The countries will review and discuss implementation of Mauritius Strategy, the development assistance programme that was adopted by 129 nations in 2005, to help address development challenges facing these island states from 2005 to 2015.
The 14 island nations are particularly vulnerable to climate change , sea-level rise, natural disasters and external economic shocks because of their small size, remoteness from major markets and poverty.
They have been hit particularly hard by the current global financial crisis, which entered during the 2007-2008 regional food and fuel crises.
The two-day meeting was organised by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
UN ESCAP is preparing a regional report to assess the countries’ achievements and this report will be discussed at the 18 th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in preparation for the high-level review meeting of the 64th United Nations General Assembly in New York later this year.
It will also be presented to the ESCAP Commission session to be held in the Republic of Korea this May./.
