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ADB President Calls For Support From Shareholders

SHANGHAI, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (10 May 2002) - President Tadao Chino called for support from all shareholders of the 60-member Asian Development Bank (ADB) to enable the ADB to respond to the development challenges facing the Asia and Pacific region.

In his opening address to the Board of Governors at the ADB's 35th Annual Meeting in Shanghai, Mr. Chino noted that many of the essential building blocks are now in place for ADB to deliver its mandate of poverty reduction. "We have also laid the groundwork to ensure the most efficient and effective use of available financial resources."

In a wide-ranging 30-minute address delivered before a record 3,300 participants, Mr. Chino highlighted three major challenges facing the region today: reducing poverty, addressing environmental degradation, and promoting regional cooperation. "Developing Asia is still home to two-thirds of the world's poor," Mr. Chino stated. "Achieving the ultimate Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty depends first and foremost on the reduction of poverty in Asia."

Mr. Chino said that the Asian financial crisis clearly illustrated the gains made through many years of rapid and sustained growth can all too quickly be reversed. "Continued economic growth is required to maintain progress in reducing poverty. To achieve this, we need structural reforms, technological progress, sufficient investment and financial stability."

Mr. Chino noted that the Asia and Pacific region had suffered from environmental degradation over the past four decades, and warned that unless this is reversed in key areas, achieving the Millennium Development Goal of environmental sustainability will not be possible.

Reviewing regional economic performance, Mr. Chino noted that aggregate economic growth for developing Asia is expected to strengthen during 2002 and 2003. "Asia will continue to be one of the fastest growing regions of the world," he added.

Despite these upward trends, however, several risks remain. Externally, these include the pace of recovery of the global economy as well as oil price levels. On the domestic front, sustained recovery depends on implementation of policy and structural reforms, particularly in the financial and corporate sectors.

President of the People's Republic of China, Jiang Zemin and Finance Minister and Chairman of the Board of Governors, Xiang Huaicheng, both earlier addressed the meeting comprised largely of government delegations, bankers, representatives from multilateral and bilateral institutions, civil society and the media.

ADB's 35th Annual Meeting continues until Sunday, 12 May.

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