Asia and the Pacific must work closer together to sustain its dynamic growth and ecological health, so as to achieve inclusive and sustainable prosperity, the United Nations urged leaders of the region on Monday.

With the continuing uncertainty in the advanced economies threatening Asia-Pacific economic dynamism, the region must seek a new path of shared and sustainable prosperity, said Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of UN and Executive Secretary of its Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP.

She made the remark at the opening ceremony of the 68th ESCAP Commission Session which gathered leaders and policymakers of its member countries in its headquarter in Bangkok.

Under the theme "Growing Together -- Economic Integration for an Inclusive and Sustainable Asia-Pacific Century", the annual session highlights the region's immense untapped potential for inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Its members are urged to work together to build a more integrated Asia-Pacific market, seamless regional connectivity, financial cooperation and a coordinated regional response to shared social and environmental risks.

Noeleen also warned against the risks and challenges faced by the region. "How do we assure that we are more energy efficient, how do we assure that we use resource wisely, how do we assure that when we grow there are also greater equality and therefore how also do we turn some of challenges into new drive of growth. There are plenty of opportunities but there are also tremendous of challenges," the female ESACP chief said in an interview with Xinhua.

"In order to steer through the turbulence, we must rethink and rebalance the economies and societies of our region," she added.

In a statement to the ESCAP forum, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra noted the timeliness of the UN emphasis on regional integration, saying that subregional cooperation frameworks were the "building blocs" towards realizing the vision of a close knit Asia and the Pacific.