Third Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

The Third Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific will be held in Kuala Lumpur from 5 to 10 February 2007 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Com~ission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), with generous hospitality to be provided by the Government of Malaysia.

The Conference will consist of two major segments, namely the Preparatory Meeting of Senior Officials from 5 to 7 February, and the Ministerial Meeting from 8 to 10 February 2007. The Ministerial Conference is expected to be attended by ministers and senior officials of the members and associate member countries of the UNESCAP.

The Conference is being convened with a new vision to enhance regional cooperation and consider concrete steps towards developing effective institutional arrangements designed to facilitate operational applications of space-based information and communication technologies among members and associate members of ESCAP. It will

• assess the implementation of the Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development;
• examine the converging trends in information, communication and space technologies and the issues facing the region in reaching internationally agreed development goals; and
• recommend a regional strategy and action plan and cooperative mechanisms in priority areas that are of common concern to the countries of Asia and the Pacific.

Further details regarding the Ministerial Conference, its provisional agenda, annotated provisional agenda, tentative programme, background documents to be deliberated upon during the Conference, and the information note for participants, are being progressively uploaded at the following website:
http://www.unescap.org/icstd/space/3MC/ 3MC_index.asp.