U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Monday hailed the signing of an agreement to ensure the completion of 86,800 miles of highway linking 32 Asian countries

"From Tokyo to Tehran, from Singapore to Samarkand (Uzbekistan), and from points beyond to those in between, the network now spans 32 countries and encompasses more than 86,800 miles," Annan said in a message delivered by Kim Hak-su, executive director of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific at a ceremony for the signing by 23 of the countries at the commission's summit in Shanghai. When finished, the highway would ease border crossing for people, vehicles and goods and give the much-needed benefits to landlocked countries envisioned by a U.N. conference last August in Alamaty, Kazakhstan, Annan said. The Bangkok-based ESCAP has been negotiating routes and road specifications for the network since 1992. The 32 countries approved the text of an agreement for upgrading sub-standard stretches and building new links in last November. At that time, U.N. officials estimated that 10 to 15 countries would have completed the regulatory processes needed for the signing.