ALMATY. May 18. KAZINFORM /Daniyar Sikhimbayev/ - The 4th Asian-Pacific business forum titled At a crossing between Asia and Europe: use of Central Asian opportunities has opened today in Almaty within the frame of the 63rd session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. More than 250 well-known leaders of business circles, senior officials and representatives of the civil society from the Asia-Pacific region participating in the event intend to discuss ways of improvement of business climate and conditions for investments with the purpose to raise the region’s global competitiveness. Industry and Trade Minister of Kazakhstan Galym Orazbakov and Kim Hak Su, the UN Undersecretary-General, ESCAP Executive Secretary, have opened the conference. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), former WTO Director General, is taking part in the forum as well. During the two days’ work of the business forum the participants are expected to consider the issues of economic diversification and financial services in Central Asia, private sector and healthcare in the region, reformation of business climate. Besides, the strengthening of international trade competitiveness of Central Asia in view of specification of strategies on the national and regional levels will be discussed there. According to Mr. Orazbakov, holding of the annual UN ESCAP session and business forum in Almaty city in the year of the Commission’s anniversary testifies to the readiness of the ESCAP member states and secretariat to look at the Central Asia in a new way. “Today we have forces to turn Kazakhstan into a regional locomotive of economic development and make it a successful player of the world economy. Moreover, we understand that Kazakhstan’s development directly depends on the concurrent recovery of the neighboring states”, the Minister noted.