Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific sends fiftieth anniversary message to UNCTAD.
I wish to offer my sincere congratulations to UNCTAD, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, for a remarkable half-century of achievements and impact. By assisting developing countries to harness trade and investment in service of more inclusive growth and shared prosperity, UNCTAD has played a key role in the remarkable transformation of the Asia-Pacific region over the past five decades.
While the world has changed immensely since 1964, in our rapidly-changing region, the mission of UNCTAD remains as relevant as ever. Through insightful research and analysis; training and assistance; and as a strong voice for developing countries, UNCTAD has helped our Asia-Pacific Member States to build the most dynamic regional economy in the world, with falling rates of poverty and growing prosperity. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is proud and grateful for our partnership and collaboration with UNCTAD over the decades, in delivering trade-led sustainable development for the people of Asia and the Pacific.
By working together through the Inter-Agency Clusters on Trade and Productive Capacity, ESCAP and UNCTAD, with other UN partners, have repeatedly demonstrated the value of our partnership, and brought great benefits to our member countries by helping to identify and overcome barriers to trade and growth.
ESCAP has also been proud to contribute to the delivery of UNCTAD's flagship training courses in the Asia-Pacific region: together we have helped regional policy-makers deepen their understanding of the challenges involved in integrating developing countries into the rapidly globalizing economy, in ways which are beneficial for all countries.
We also value UNCTAD's support for the development of ESCAP's regional knowledge networks, in particular the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade, and the United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless trade. We look forward to continued partnership with UNCTAD as we extend our collaboration to build a more inclusive, prosperous and sustainable Asia-Pacific. 
