BANGKOK, May 1. /TASS/. Russia’s economy is expected to grow by 1.1% in 2017 due to "relatively higher oil prices," the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in its annual report presented in Thailand’s capital Bangkok on Monday.

"Relatively higher oil prices are projected to lift economic growth in the Russian Federation by 1.1 per cent in 2017 after last year’s contraction of 0.2 per cent," the survey said.

Authors of the report also forecast that developing economies of the Asia-Pacific region will grow at 5% and 5.1% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, up from 4.9% last year.

"The projected moderate Asia-Pacific economic growth faces risks from rising protectionism and global uncertainty," the survey says. "A steeper-than-anticipated increase in these factors could reduce average regional growth in 2017 by up to 1.2 percentage points."

Established in 1947 with its headquarters in Bangkok, ESCAP is a major regional commission of the United Nations, which promotes social and economic development of the Asia-Pacific region. It has 53 member-states. Russia has been the organization’s member since 1947.