ADB and UNDP Join Forces to Fight Poverty

The Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to signal their new strategic partnership to strengthen poverty reduction initiatives in the Asian and Pacific region.

The MOU was signed between Hafiz Pasha, UNDP Regional Director for Asia and Pacific; and Myoung-Ho Shin, ADB Vice President, during the opening day of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank, held in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The two organizations have committed to working together more closely and strategically to ensure their development assistance is effectively and efficiently making a positive difference in the lives of the poor in the Asia Pacific.

The strengthened collaboration between UNDP and ADB will include joint activities in the area of poverty measurements and assessments. The aim is to support developing countries in the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national poverty reduction strategies, action plans or agendas.

"The challenge of poverty reduction is enormous and diverse. We must seek maximum synergy in development assistance by working together," said Mr. Shin.

"World leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit last September pledged to eliminate extreme poverty by 2015," said Mr. Pasha. "This agreement between ADB and UNDP is one step toward reaching this target for the countries in Asia and the Pacific."

Other areas of cooperation specified in the memorandum include governance, private sector development, information and communications technology, environment, gender and development, and indigenous peoples.

The partnership builds on each organization's comparative strengths, and extensive experience of working together over the past thirty years.