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A Renewed Sense of Commitment
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It had been 34 years since the Republic of Korea hosted an ADB annual meeting, and for the 37th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank in May, the Government pulled out all the stops. Jeju Island’s International Convention Center, a space-age facility situated on cliffs overlooking the sea, provided a breathtaking setting for the meeting and offered spacious state-of-the-art amenities. It comfortably accommodated the Annual Meeting’s 2,500 participants, including ADB Governors, official delegations of ADB members, and representatives from multilateral and bilateral institutions, global financial community, and civil society.
The event opened on an upbeat note, following the successful conclusion in Seoul of the eighth replenishment of ADB’s concessional financing instrument, the Asian Development Fund (ADF), just before the Annual Meeting.
In announcing the news, at the Annual Meeting’s traditional curtain-raiser event for the media, ADB President Tadao Chino said that following the $7 billion ADF replenishment, “we are indeed going into our Annual Meeting with a renewed sense of commitment to our mission of reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region.”
The official opening to the Annual Meeting was heralded by a blaze of Korean culture, in a presentation entitled “Light of Dawn,” featuring traditional singers, dancers, drummers, and instrumentalists. This spectacle was followed by other colorful presentations over the next two days that showcased the best of Korea’s national, local, popular, and classical culture.
In an opening address to that session, Republic of Korea’s Prime Minister Goh Kun outlined his country’s vision for regional and global peace and stability and paid tribute to ADB’s “significant contributions” in lowering the proportion of the poor living in the region, from 32% in 1990 to 22% in 2000.“
OPENED The Annual Meeting starts with a bang
“This is truly a remarkable achievement, equivalent to saving 180 million people from extreme poverty in Asia and the Pacific for a decade,” he said.
“I believe these achievements were possible because ADB, without fail, continues to set achievable goals, taking into account the ground realities in Asia and the Pacific.”
He said that the Republic of Korea would continue to make important contributions to the prosperity of the region by “fully utilizing its economic status and strengths and deepening partnership with ADB.” In this regard, he announced the establishment of an “e-Asia” Fund, to support ADB’s efforts at reducing the digital divide and improve information flows in the region.
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Hun-Jai Lee, in his opening statement, pointed out that in an era of knowledgebased economies, the digital divide may become one of the major sources of income gaps.
“We must focus more on narrowing the digital divide to achieve balanced economic development,” he said.
Mr. Lee, Republic of Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, also proposed the establishment of a Knowledge Partnership Fund, a trust fund financed by the Korean Government to serve as an effective channel to transfer its experience and knowledge.
He said that the world’s economies had entered a new era of unprecedented symbiosis.
“More than ever, the world’s policy makers must be appreciative of this symbiotic relationship when contemplating their policy actions,” he said.
" It has also become essential to continue with the push for regional financial cooperation to prevent the recurrence of crises "
- Deputy Prime Minister Hun-Jai Lee
Republic of Korea
“Of course, even more so in the new era, sound macroeconomic policies and continued economic reforms will remain the bedrock of sustainable economic growth. However, it has also become essential to continue with the push for regional financial cooperation to prevent the recurrence of crises.”
In his address to the Board of Governors, Mr. Chino said that Asian countries were now on a more solid and sustainable growth path.
He noted, however, that while income poverty had declined in Asia and the Pacific, progress had been limited in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Unless efforts are redoubled, he warned, the region—home to two thirds of the world’s poor—was at serious risk of failing to achieve the MDGs relating to health, education, gender, and environment.
“For Asia to maintain its progress and achieve peace, prosperity, and freedom from poverty, further structural reforms as well as a deepening and expansion of regional cooperation are crucial,” he said.
In addition, he pointed out that the Asia and Pacific region requires more than $250 billion a year in infrastructure investments in the medium term, and huge external financing.
WHO’s WHO Former ADB presidents and current vice-presidents
“The financing shortfall is a serious constraint to the region’s continued economic growth and development, and to achieving the MDGs,” he said.
Mr. Chino said that a dynamic private sector is crucial for sustainable economic growth and ADB will continue to improve basic infrastructure and support policy, institutional, regulatory, and judicial reforms to enhance governance.
“Consistent with its Charter, ADB must promote ongoing regional economic integration, and ensure that it will be pro-poor and equitable, both within and among countries, and open to the rest of the world,” he said.
“When ADB was being created, Asia was divided, stricken by conflict, and the poorest region of the world,” he concluded. “Today, the vision of an integrated, prosperous, poverty-free and peaceful Asia is no longer a dream, but an achievable goal.”
On the sidelines of the Annual Meeting, about a dozen seminars and country presentations were held, addressing some of the most topical and pressing issues facing Asia’s economies.
With the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers meeting in parallel at Jeju, the seminar on a Single Currency for East Asia attracted particular attention. Others dealt with infrastructure, corporate restructuring, guarantee products, domestic credit rating agencies, and banking sector reform. A Korea Day seminar examined the host country’s economic progress over the past few decades and the lessons that could be learned for the rest of Asia.
ATTENTIVE Audience members listen to the Prime Minister
In between a busy schedule of business sessions, seminars, and side events, the President held a series of bilateral meetings with delegations to enhance relations with ADB members.
During the Annual Meeting’s business sessions, governors reviewed the economic performance and prospects of the Asia and Pacific region, as well as the many changes and reforms that have been initiated to strengthen the development effectiveness of ADB.
ADB’s governors observed that the international community, including ADB and its development partners, had played an important supportive role in the region’s strong performance.
They noted the trend toward greater regional interdependence of trade and investment, and the need for closer financial cooperation. They also noted that development policies need to emphasize how growth can be more socially inclusive by addressing gender, education, health, environment, and governance.
The governors had observed that the overall growth of the region masked differences among subregions and countries on progress in reducing poverty, particularly the non-income dimensions, which are so critical for achieving the MDGs.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Chino said governors had reaffirmed that ADB’s Poverty Reduction Strategy continues to provide a sound operational framework for the institution’s overarching goal of poverty reduction and helping its developing member countries achieve the MDGs.
" This is truly a remarkable achievement, equivalent to saving 180 million people from extreme poverty in Asia and the Pacific for a decade "
- Prime Minister Goh Kun, Republic of Korea
“ADB is firmly committed to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region, home to two thirds of the world’s poor, the majority being women,” Mr. Chino told governors.
“ADB is your trusted partner, and it has the knowledge, experience, resources, and other institutional strengths that are essential for addressing the complex development challenges facing the region. ADB will implement all its commitments to become a more accountable, more efficient, and more transparent institution that can effectively assist our developing member countries to fight poverty and achieve the MDGs.”
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