Address by
Ibrahim H. Çanakci the Chair of the Board of Governors and Governor for Turkey

4 May 2005
Istanbul, Turkey

It is a great pleasure to welcome the Asian Development Bank, member country delegations, distinguished guests and participants to this 38th Annual Meeting in the ancient and beautiful city of Istanbul. As you know, the honor of hosting this meeting in Turkey has been long awaited and eagerly anticipated. I extend my sincere wishes to all of you for an enjoyable and productive week.

ADB and Turkey have a strong, if relatively young, partnership. It is a relationship characterized by deep mutual respect and friendship, and of course by a shared passion for improving the lives of the people of Asia and the Pacific. As a country that bridges the two continents of Asia and Europe, this is an issue of great importance to Turkey, and increasingly so as our world becomes more globalized and interconnected. We value our involvement with ADB and look forward to continuing our work together.

As the Chair of the Board of Governors, I would like to officially recognize and welcome ADB's new President, Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, who assumed office on February the 1st of this year. President Kuroda was unanimously elected to his post by the Board of Governors following the resignation of former President Mr. Tadao Chino. Mr. Kuroda comes to ADB with a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to foster continued growth, development and poverty reduction in the Asia and Pacific region. On behalf of the Board of Governors, I would like to wish President Kuroda all the best in furthering this critical mission. I should also thank former President Mr. Chino for his dedicated and committed work and wish him well for the future.

The Asian Tsunami

Fellow Governors, Distinguished Guests,

The year 2004 will stand out in history as the year the great Asian tsunami shook the world. I believe I speak for all Board members in offering deep condolences to all member countries that were struck by significant natural disasters over the last 12 months. The earthquake and tsunami of 26 December was, of course, unprecedented in scale and impact. For the hardest hit country of Indonesia, subsequent major earthquakes have further deepened this tragedy.

Rehabilitation and reconstruction will take years and I want to assure all affected countries of ADB's commitment and ongoing support in these efforts.

I am impressed that ADB has responded to this matter promptly, and worked closely with governments, communities, partner agencies, civil society and others to ensure that the recovery efforts are well coordinated and meet the needs of the survivors.

The Annual Report

Distinguished Guests,

Let me turn to the Annual Report, which outlines in detail ADB's accomplishments of 2004. I will touch on just a few highlights.

As you know, a review of ADB's poverty reduction strategy, which was completed in July 2004, confirmed the relevance of its three pillars: pro-poor sustainable economic growth, inclusive social development and good governance. The review also outlined a number of areas to be strengthened in order to achieve greater development effectiveness.

I am pleased to note that ADB has taken action on several fronts to respond to the review's recommendations. For example, ADB's country strategies and programs are more closely aligned with national poverty reduction strategies and the Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs ). All new country strategy and programs will be built on a results framework, and will include progress indicators and monitoring mechanisms.

I am also pleased to note that ADB adopted a Pacific Strategy, covering all operations of the Pacific Department. As we know, the small countries that dot the Pacific face many challenges in achieving sustainable development. The new strategy focuses on private sector development, economic efficiency, social services and good governance.

To further improve its development effectiveness, ADB also moved forward on a number of management reforms in 2004. To date, ADB has strengthened performance-based allocation of Asian Development Fund resources, established a results management unit and completed an independent assessment of the 2002 reorganization. It is also noteworthy that ADB developed a new human resource strategy, as an integral part of ADB's focus on performance management. I commend the Management and staff for these initiatives and look forward to further progress in the year ahead.

All in all, I believe these reforms have made ADB a stronger institution that is better able to assist developing member countries in meeting their development goals. In addition to those initiatives, ADB's accountability mechanism became fully operational in 2004, and the Operations Evaluation Department began reporting directly to the Board of Directors.

The new Public Communications Policy, which was designed to enhance transparency and accountability, was the subject of extensive consultation with a broad range of stakeholders. The policy was approved by the Board just two weeks ago and comes into effect in September 1.

ADB's Role in Development

Ladies and gentlemen,

This is an important year for international development . 2005 is a year of stock-taking on MDGs, which will culminate in the Millennium + 5 High Level Plenary Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September. Only one decade remains to achieve the critical targets to which all 191 UN member states have committed.

Two years ago, when I had the privilege of addressing the 36th Annual Meeting in Manila, I noted that the world community had confirmed its commitment to the MDGs through a series of major conferences. I also noted that setting goals is only the start, -but achieving them will take a sustained and focused effort over many years.

In February of this year, the Second High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness set out a blueprint to guide our mutual efforts and accelerate progress towards the MDGs. The Paris Declaration is based on five principles: country ownership, harmonization among donors, alignment with country systems, managing for results and mutual accountability.

As a whole, the region is on track to reduce by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. But for most of developing Asia, addressing the full range of MDGs will remain a huge challenge. As the region's partner in development, ADB has a vital role in working with developing member countries to reach their targets for poverty reduction, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, HIV/AIDS and environmental sustainability. The MDGs are clearly reflected in ADB's Long-Term Strategic Framework and in its poverty reduction strategy.

ADB has a number of strategies and policies to guide this important work. Let me briefly mention just three.

First, as we look to the future, it is clear to see that ADB will continue to be a major source of financing for development, and also an increasingly important source of expertise. Over the last 38 years, ADB has built considerable development expertise in the Asia and Pacific Region. Perhaps more than any other institution, it has a deep and broad understanding of the issues facing developing Asia. ADB is uniquely positioned to share lessons learned with its developing member countries.

Second, ADB must strengthen and enhance its role in the area of regional and subregional cooperation and integration. As we know, regional cooperation initiatives have proliferated across Asia and the Pacific in recent years. The successful Greater Mekong Subregion has been one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Poverty has declined in the subregion and per capita GDP has grown by almost one-third. Similar subregional partnerships are coming together in South, Central and Southeast Asia as countries increasingly recognize the benefits of regional cooperation. I commend ADB's leadership in these initiatives and look forward to seeing more in the years ahead.

Third, infrastructure remains a significant challenge across the region. Modern, reliable infrastructure is a fundamental building block for sustainable economic growth and investment. People who lack access to markets, reliable sources of energy, safe drinking water and communication networks have few opportunities to participate in development and lift themselves out of poverty. This is particularly critical in rural areas, where rural infrastructure investments have been shown to have significant direct effects on rural poverty reduction. But with the current rapid urbanization of Asia, investing in cities also takes on a new urgency.

Concluding Remarks

Distinguished Guests,

The Asia and Pacific region has experienced tremendous economic growth in recent decades, leading to substantial poverty reduction. But many challenges remain. As owners and shareholders of this institution, it is up to all of us to look ahead to the horizon, anticipate the development needs of the future and support ADB to achieve its important goals. The lives of millions of women, men and children depend on our determined action. The worthy goals of the poverty reduction strategy - pro-poor sustainable economic growth, inclusive social development and good governance - can only be achieved with all of our support.

Let me conclude by offering my very best wishes for a successful Annual Meeting, and for another year of progress in reducing poverty across Asia and the Pacific.