ADB Looking for Stronger Ties with Civil Society, NGO Forum Told

Bart Edes

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (2 May 2005) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today updated nongovernment organization representatives and other stakeholders on a roadmap that is building ADB's engagement with civil society organizations and governments in a tripartite partnership.

Bart Edes, Head of ADB's NGO Center, said the Framework for ADB-Government-NGO Cooperation (2003-2005) is implementing five main actions.

• Strengthening NGO participation in ADB supported activities
• Enhancing transparency and access to information
• Developing ADB capacity and resources to better engage NGOs
• Building NGO capacity and providing support to them
• Strengthening government-NGO cooperation.

He said the present framework was prepared in a participatory manner - taking into account feedback from more than 500 stakeholders - and is supported by ADB's medium-term strategy 2001-2005 and long-term strategic framework 2001-2015.

"Since the framework began implementation in 2003, we have come a long way in our partnership with civil society - funding NGOs with small grants, strengthening civil society involvement in ADB's Country Strategy and Program process, and involving NGOs as implementing agencies in our projects," Mr. Edes said.

"Civil society organizations are among our key partners in development. We will be seeking their support in forging a new medium term action plan for cooperation to make our partnerships even more effective through 2010."

He was speaking at an Open Forum on ADB-NGO cooperation, held ahead of ADB's 38th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors, which opens Wednesday in Istanbul.

Participants in the forum, attended by NGO and private sector representatives, government officials, media, and ADB staff, addressed several issues connected with ADB's partnership with civil society, including NGO involvement in ADB projects, the selection of NGOs to participate in consultation processes, and the use of local languages to engage stakeholders in ADB's developing member countries.

NGO representatives attending the Annual Meeting will be meeting with senior staff of ADB, including President Haruhiko Kuroda, during a session tomorrow morning.

In addition, NGO and ADB representatives will deliberate issues ranging from governance and corruption to aid effectiveness and sustainable development on four panels being organized as part of the Annual Meeting's NGO program.

Contact Person

Graham Dwyer
Tel. No. (+90-212) 241-8000 loc. 2548
E-mail: gdwyer@adb.org