United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Topic A: Trade in the Era of Competing Economic Centers of Power
Topic B: Maintaining Monetary Stability for Emerging and Established Debtors and Creditors
Dependent on trade, much of Asia has been highly affected by international economic turmoil. Amidst the rise of the Chinese economy as well as growing protectionism in major import markets such as the United States and European Union, this uncertainty is connected closely to the differing geopolitical and economic interests of nations throughout the region. Nations are increasingly being forced to make economic decisions to favor some rather than other economic centres of power, with their differing effects on the geopolitical interests of Asian nations. On the one hand, it is imperative for nations to maintain economic stability amidst massive economic turmoil. On the other, nations must think about their geopolitical interests and how they can maintain a stable economy without becoming dependent on nations with interests contrary to their own. Delegates should focus on a policy that will both improve their respective nation’s economic ends as well as their geopolitical ends.
Many nations in Asia, such as Sri Lanka, have become increasingly dependent on emerging creditor nations, such as China. These creditors, being other emerging nations, tend to have less stringent fiscal demands than traditional creditors such as the IMF. At the same time, however, they tend to be more willing to make demands that include economic takeover of strategic industries. In Sri Lanka, for instance, major ports have been seized by the Chinese government as credit for unpaid debts. Amidst this growing problem, both debtors and creditors face a situation contrary to their interests. Debtors view the situation as characterized by demands that they could not possibly fulfill, while emerging creditors, without the wealth of many traditional creditors, view default from debtors as not just undesirable but impossible to accept. Amidst this growing tension, delegates should look for a policy that provides debtors the ability to pay back their debt without disincentivizing creditors from offering money to help pay for debt.
Dear Delegates,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the UNESCAP for the 2025 session of Harvard Model United Nations! I am honored to have the opportunity to see all of you and serve as your Director. I am excited for our hopefully lively and cooperative discussions on these deep and important issues.
My name is Jason Morganbesser. I am a rising Junior living in Quincy House concentrating in Philosophy. I have been involved in Model UN since my Sophomore year in High School, first competing while in high school and then judging in college. I was previously Director of IMF at HMUN 2025 and of WIPO at HNMUN 2025 and Assistant Director of the UNHRC at HMUN 2024 and of ASEAN at HNMUN 2024. This year, I am excited to direct the UNESCAP committee at HNMUN. I hope my experience as both a former competitor and a director will allow me to facilitate an intellectually rewarding, substantive, and successful committee.
Model UN has been an incredibly rewarding and valuable part of my life since I started down this path four years ago, and I hope that I can continue to support that experience for you as well. As a chair, I value the quality of the ideas put forth by delegates, their ability to both address the complexities of the issue at hand with bold ideas as well as to be practically effective and feasible. I also value a close connection between the stated position of the delegate and the actual position of the country.
As the world economy shifts into a multi-polar environment, nations, particularly those in Asia, face an increasingly difficult relationship between economic and geopolitical ends. The future of international trade increasingly looks jeopardized by growing protectionism in the United States, long a large buyer of international goods, and of slowing Chinese economic growth. In this period, it will be up to individual nations to decide their economic futures amidst increasing great power jockeying, international tension, and world economic strife. I hope that you all will have a good, and educational, time representing your respective nations in our unique and unstable time.
I am excited to be able to work with you at our annual conference and would be happy to support you on any stage of the process, from researching to the end of the conference. Please reach out with any questions or concerns, and I’m excited to work with you all!
Sincerely,
Jason Morganbesser
Harvard Model United Nations 2026