Nobel laureate Amratya Sen has been conferred Lifetime Achievement Award by UNESCAP as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations.

"The award is a symbol of our pride that a son of our region has risen to be an eminent citizen of the world," executive secretary of the Bangkok-based UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Kim Hak-Su said describing Sen as a citizen of the Asian and Pacific region during the presentation ceremony on Wednesday.

Praising his contributions, a UN Information Service office statement said, "Professor Sen's seminal contributions have revolutionised contemporary thinking and profoundly affected the policies of the United Nations and countries across the globe."

"Professor Sen's writings on social choice, welfare distribution, poverty, famines, democracy, individual freedom and human identity have extended the frontiers of contemporary thinking on some of the most pressing issues facing the region," he noted.

Sen, speaking at the function, emphasised on the contributions made by the Asian civilizations.

"We have reason to be proud of what we Asians have been able to do for ourselves and for world civilization," he said.

"But there is a lot to do still. The celebration of the past achievements of Asia's parliamentary inclinations as well as its vast immensities is also a good moment to think of the future. I would like to be able to say: the best is yet to come," he said.