Catalog

Building Partnership with Middle Income Countries and Ordinary Capital Resources Borrowers
Updated: 27 April 2006

Background

Asia and the Pacific Region has been dramatically transformed since the last strategic review of OCR operations in 1993. Many OCR borrowers have become active players in the global economy. Their development process has altered the roles and responsibilities of the national and local governments, public and private entities, nongovernment organizations, civil society, and local communities. These changes require ADB to reexamine effectiveness of its operations in these countries.

The key challenge to ADB is to continue offering relevant, responsive and efficient services to client countries whose needs have changed.

The paper confirms ADB’s continued relevance in such countries on account of their critical roles in the global attainments of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as their contribution to stability in an increasingly interdependent global economy.

The paper also synthesizes the findings from a review of operations financed from OCR. It examines the constraints of ADB’s traditional operational approaches, and proposes new approaches that are relevant to operations contexts and responsive to clients’ needs.

• reducing the costs of doing business with ADB
• enhancing service quality
• enhancing and expanding the range of instruments available
• adopting more responsive operations management, planning and monitoring systems.

Top

Tentative Timeline

Top

Inquiries and Suggestions

Inquiries and suggestions from stakeholders are welcome. Please send your comments to micfeedback@adb.org by 28 May 2006 so they may be considered in the final draft.

_________________

¹DMCs are classified into four categories based on per capita gross national product (GNP), debt repayment capacity, and least-developed country status: (i) group A (Asian Development Fund [ADF] only); (ii) groups B1 and B2 (blend countries eligible for a combination of OCR and ADF); (iii) group C (OCR operations only); and (iv) graduates (high-income countries that have graduated from the regular ADB assistance program). The paper focuses primarily on: (i) blend countries: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cook Islands, Indonesia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam; and (ii) countries that borrow only from OCR: Fiji Islands, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Turkmenistan. While the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India are classified as blend countries, their operations have been funded only by OCR.