BANGKOK, May 14  -- Economic growth in the developing economies in Asia and the Pacific is expected to increase only slightly in 2015 to 5.9 percent, up from 5.8 percent in 2014, the United Nations (UN) said here on Thursday.

This outlook is based on "relatively improved economic performance" in a number of major developing economies, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in its newly-released Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2015.

Meanwhile, the outlook for some exporting economies remains less upbeat "due to slow growth in the eurozone and Japan, as well as in China which is the major source of intraregional final demand," according to the Survey, which is ESCAP's annual flagship publication.

Inflation is also forecast to further decline and remain low, largely due to lower international oil prices, which have led to interest rate cuts in many economies of the region, the ESCAP analysis showed.

The growth potential of Asia-Pacific developing economies is being held back by infrastructure shortages and the excessive commodity dependence of some countries, the ESCAP stressed, adding the fragile global economic recovery and consequently subdued global trade pose additional challenges.

While launching the Survey, UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Dr. Shamshad Akhtar emphasized the need to promote quality growth and shared prosperity in the region, calling on regional policymakers to integrate and mainstream inclusive growth by adopting a mixed set of measures to achieve better social and environmental outcomes, to enhance public welfare.

The ESCAP highlighted critical policy issues for sub-regions, including excessive dependence on natural resources and worker remittances for economic growth in North and Central Asia, as well as employment and climate-related challenges in Pacific island developing countries.

Macroeconomic imbalances and severe power shortages are key concerns in South and South-West Asia, along with weaknesses in infrastructure and skilled labor shortages in South-East Asia.

The recent earthquake in Nepal is a fresh reminder of how natural disasters can reverse economic and social gains, with massive loss of life and livelihoods, the ESCAP said.

The region will remain susceptible to a range of risks and uncertainties -- among others, possible fresh bouts of financial market volatility, delays in addressing structural impediments, and political disruptions.

In this context, the ESCAP urged stronger macroeconomic management, coupled with targeted macro-prudential policies to cope with volatility in capital flows expected from current and emerging monetary policy conditions in the advanced economies.

It argued in favor of caution as far as the monetary policy stance of developing economies of the region is concerned.

The ESCAP analysis also advocated promoting equality of opportunity and boosting decent job creation through the development of small and medium sized enterprises and rural industrialization, with the private sector taking on a critical role in making growth more inclusive.

"Without a vibrant and strong private sector, tackling poverty and rising levels of inequality and creating jobs will not be possible," noted the Survey.

Public expenditures should be more development-oriented, particularly enhancing access to quality education and healthcare, as well as strengthening social safety nets to help break the vicious cycle of deprivation, which further intensifies poverty, the ESCAP said.

"To enhance well-being, countries need to go beyond just focusing on 'inequality of income' and instead promote 'equality of opportunities'," Akhtar explained.

The executive secretary also urged Asia-Pacific governments to focus on domestic resource mobilization, making a series of recommendations for governments to not only increase their own revenues but importantly to also better tap private sector resources for sustainable development, in particular for climate- friendly infrastructure and social financing.

"While traditional sources of finance such as tax revenues and official development assistance are important, in order to bridge the wide financing gap, efforts to deepen the region's capital markets and engage the private sector must be intensified," Akhtar said.