|
このニュースレターは日本語でもお読み頂けます。
SPOTLIGHT
New ADB President Vows to Meet the Challenge of Fighting Poverty in Asia
Haruhiko Kuroda took the reins of the Asian Development Bank as its eighth President and immediately called on the institution to re-invigorate itself to meet the challenges of operating in the world's most dynamic region.
"The Asia and Pacific Region has tremendous potential to rapidly attain sustainable economic development and poverty reduction in the coming years," Kuroda told the bank's more than 2000 employees. "That is because the region's people have great potential."
President Kuroda outlined the vision of a bank that works in close consultation with the nations of Asia to provide effective development assistance. He further said, "As the Asia and Pacific Region is experiencing dynamic and rapid change, ADB should respond to the region's needs in a flexible and timely manner". Read the news release.
Also read his statement of "Development Challenges for the Asia and Pacific Region and the Role of the Asian Development Bank".
Progress Report on ADB's Reform Agenda issued
Under a reform agenda adopted in June 2004, ADB has been implementing 19 interrelated initiatives to improve its organizational effectiveness as well as development effectiveness at the country level. The progress report of January 2005 provides a good update on the progress made so far in several important areas, such as;
- the performance-based allocation policy was strengthened
- the Results Management Unit was established
- the independent assessment of ADB's 2002 reorganization was conducted
- the remaining 16 initiatives are on track and will be completed largely over the next 3 years with 12 expected to be completed in 2005
- the new human resources strategy was formulated and is being implemented, which is crucial for the reform agenda's success
The Management and the Reform Coordination Committee, set up in July 2004, will continue to guide and support staff in implementing the
ongoing initiatives. Communication with staff and external stakeholders will be continuous to build their understanding of and support for the reform agenda. Read the report.
 Top
New ADB President to Host High-Level Meeting on Tsunami Assistance
ADB will host a high-level meeting on 18 March in Manila to coordinate assistance to tsunami affected countries, ADB President, Haruhiko Kuroda, announced.
Addressing a news conference one week into his presidency, Mr. Kuroda said the tsunami response is entering a critical phase and is shifting from the relief phase to the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase.
"It is critical that the international community maintain the significant momentum of the relief effort as longer-term work on restoring livelihoods, rehabilitating communities, restoring social services, and rebuilding infrastructure moves into high gear".
ADB Approves $600 Million Emergency Fund for Tsunami Affected-Countries
ADB Board of Directors approved the setting up of a multi-donor Asian Tsunami Fund, with ADB making its own initial contribution of US$600 million, to deliver prompt emergency funding to tsunami-affected countries.
The Fund will pool and deliver grants for emergency technical assistance and investment projects to support reconstruction and rehabilitation in India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and now Thailand.
ADB will accept contributions to the Fund from bilateral, multilateral, and private sector sources, including companies and foundations.
The money will be used exclusively for prompt restoration of services to affected people. Possible sectors could include public services such as water supply and sanitation, electricity, and communications; infrastructure such as roads, railways, and ports; health and education services; agriculture and fisheries; housing; restoring livelihoods; and containment of environmental damage. Read the news release.
Tsunami Could Throw Nearly 2 Million Additional People into Poverty in the Affected Countries
The wall of water that ripped across southern Asia last month, killing more than 150,000, could throw nearly 2 million additional people into poverty, according to a report released today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
"The poverty impact of the tsunami will be enormous," said Ifzal Ali, Chief Economist with the Manila-based multilateral development bank. "Poverty is potentially the most important effect of this natural disaster." Read the news release.
JFPR Grants Signing Ceremony
ADB will boost the preparedness of the Kyrgyz Republic to cope with natural disasters, and help the country reduce the neonatal mortality.
The Finance Minister, Mr. Bolot Abildaev, on behalf of the Kyrgyz Republic signed Letters of Agreement for
- Reducing Vulnerability of the Poor to Natural Disasters
- Reducing the Neonatal Mortality projects
Both grants, $1 million each, come from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), financed by the Government of Japan.
Country Director of the Kyrgyz Resident Mission, Mr. M. Ashraf Malik, Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic, H.E. Tsunozaki Toshio, attended the signing ceremony. Read the news release.
Top
Forthcoming Events
6 April
Asian Development Outlook 2005
This year's ADB's annual economic forecast report, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2005, will be released on 6 April. Further information on follow-up event in Tokyo will be posted on ADB and JRO website soon. |
16 March
Tokyo Symposium "Connecting East Asia: A New Framework for Infrastructure in East Asia and the Pacific"
ADB, JBIC and World Bank, since September 2003, with the support of the Government of Japan, have worked on a Joint Flagship Study on Infrastructure "Connecting East Asia: A New Framework for Infrastructure in East Asia and the Pacific" to explore appropriate framework for infrastructure development in East Asian countries. The symposium will present key findings and recommendations of the study, and discuss operational implications of the study. See the invitation. |
12 March
Charity Concert for Tsunami Aid Japan
ADB, together with the World Bank and others, are supporting a charity concert to be held in Tokyo on 12 March 2005 under the banner of "Tsunami Aid Japan". Revenues from the tickets sale of the concert will be sent to assist Tsunami-affected people. See more information in Japanese. |
Recent Events
22-23 February
Business Opportunities Seminar in Tokyo
A business opportunities seminar for Japanese firms and individual consultants was held in Tokyo. It was to promote more participation by Japanese firms and individual consultants, and updated ADB's policies and guidelines on procurement and consulting services available under ADB-financed projects. |
7 February
First Brown Bag Seminar at JRO
A seminar on Chinese economy was held at JRO with Dr. C.H. Kwan, Senior Fellow of Nomura Institute of Capital Markets Research, speaking. It was one of JRO's outreach programs and proved to be one appreciated by about 50 participants. JRO plans to hold such seminar every other month to promote exchange of views and information on Asian economic and development issues among the opinion leaders in Tokyo. |
5-6 February
One World Festival in Osaka
JRO participated in the One World Festival, an event held in Osaka to promote
international cooperation. ADB video programs were shown during the festival. |
18-22 January
World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe
VP van der Linden participated in a high-level roundtable discussion on disaster risk mitigation at the conference in Kobe, Japan. He spoke on ADB's efforts to integrate disaster risk management into ADB's operations. Read his remarks. |
For inquiries about ADB events, please e-mail Yoshiaki Terai at JRO: yterai@adb.org
Top
A Region in Crisis - The toll of Disaster on Asia and the Pacific
This brochure explains ADB's role in disaster and emergency assistance and highlights the new Disaster and Emergency Assistance Policy (2004).
ERD Working Paper Series No. 61 - Foreign Exchange Reserves, Exchange Rate Regimes and Monetary Policy: Issues in Asia
This paper seeks to outline issues arising from rapid foreign exchange reserve accumulations in Asia.
ADB no Gaiyo
Brochure on ADB's operations, Capital Recourses and others is now available with updated information.
Online Publication: Economics Research Department Working Paper on Aid Effectiveness?
The paper takes a fresh look, from a macro perspective, at the issue of aid effectiveness. An important point of departure for this study is that it adopts poverty reduction, as contrasted from economic growth, as the metric for measuring aid effectiveness.
Early Warning Systems For Financial Crisis: Applications to East Asia
A joint publication of ADB and Palgrave Macmillan, the book presents background papers and case studies commissioned by Regional Economic Monitoring Unit in support of ASEAN+3 efforts to develop early warning system models. The case studies use data from six East Asian countries. Place an order, or e-mail the publisher; orders@palgrave.co
Other ADB Publications
- For further inquiries about ADB publications, please e-mail Keiko Kawazu at JRO: kkawazu@adb.org
Top
To Subscribe and Unsubscribe
For subscription to this e-Newsletter, please send an e-mail to: jronewsletter-request@intraweb.asiandevbank.org and put "Subscribe" in the subject line.
If you do not want to receive this e-Newsletter, you may unsubscribe by putting "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and sending an
e-mail to: jronewsletter-request@intraweb.asiandevbank.org.
Change of your e-mail address
To change your e-mail address, simply unsubscribe your old e-mail address and send a blank e-mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to jronewsletter-request@intraweb.asiandevbank.org
Top
Asian Development Bank
Japanese Representative Office
Second Floor, Yamato Seimei Bldg.1-7,
Uchisaiwaicho 1-Chome
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0011, Japan
|
Tel. + 81 3 3504 3160
Fax. + 81 3 3504 3165
Web site: http://www.adb.org/JRO/
Map - How to Visit JRO
|
|
Media Center 
RSS Feeds
