Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 34 of 53 BACK | NEXT Executive Summary Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations by ADF Donors ADF VIII: Requests for Midterm Policy Reviews and Reports I. Introduction II. The International Development Goals III. Poverty in Developing Asia IV. ADB and ADF: Vision and Role V. ADB’S Framework for Poverty Reduction VI. Development through Partnership VII. ADF Resources: Portfolio Management and Performance VIII. The Strategy for Implementing ADF VIII A. General Strategy and Partnership B. Implementing ADB’s Poverty Reduction Strategy C. Performance-Based Allocation System for ADF Resources D. Governance Action Plan E. Development of the Private Sector F. Infectious Diseases including HIV/AIDS G. Core Labor Standards H. Gender and Development I. Environment J. Cooperation Among DMCs K. Money Laundering L. Drug Trafficking M. Improving Evaluation and the Linkage to Planning Operations N. Redesign of Operational Business Processes and Portfolio Management O. Strengthening Resident Missions P. Strengthening ADB’s Institutional Capacity IX. Planned Lending in ADF VIII X. Financing Framework for ADF VIII XI. Issues for Policy Review XII. Midterm Review of ADF VIII

ADF VIII Donor's Report: Fighting Poverty in Asia : VIII. The Strategy for Implementing ADF VIII

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J. Cooperation Among DMCs

92. Donors reaffirmed that ADB has a special Charter mandate to promote cooperation among DMCs and has a policy on ADB support for regional cooperation. There is a consensus among Donors that ADB’s regional character gives it a comparative advantage to support cooperation among DMCs.

93. Donors concluded that while differences between DMCs in Asia are marked, the efficacy of efforts to promote development will depend in no small part on cooperation among the DMCs, and between them and countries outside the Region. Donors also concluded that regional economic cooperation and restructuring have been uneven among the DMCs. Many DMCs in South Asia, Central Asia and the Pacific have been left outside the ‘virtuous circle’ of globalization and open economic regionalism, as have particular groups within DMCs (e.g. the traditional rural sector). Regional cooperation, therefore, provides a potentially important mechanism for poverty reduction, especially where it involves marginal and less developed areas with untapped economic potential. The heterogeneity of economic conditions across developing Asia offers opportunities for further exploiting comparative advantage through more effective trade and investment cooperation among the DMCs and between them and the rest of the world.

94. Donors agreed that regional cooperation should not be confined to the economic dimension of development. It is also highly relevant to addressing cross-border issues such as common property resource management, labor migration, disease prevention and control, and human resource development. This requires closer cooperation among DMCs on a wider range of issues as well as developing effective, stable means of resolving disputes arising from associated policies and practices, and a capacity to draw on knowledge and expertise from outside the Region.

95. Donors noted a recent OEO evaluation of the Greater Mekong Subregion initiative that pointed to important and valuable impacts from that subregional cooperation. However, Donors also noted, with concern, that it also indicated that the GMS Initiative may have been constrained by such factors as ADB’s organizational structure, staff resources and incentives, and current funding arrangements for TAs and loans.

96. Donors recommended ADB continue its support to the Greater Mekong Subregion program, as well as preparations for a medium-term regional assistance plan for Central Asia, including ADF borrowers. Donors also recommended that ADB should continue to work with the South Asia Growth Quadrangle⁸ towards the promotion and financing of specific cross-border projects, or national projects with subregional implications. And finally, Donors were pleased to note that ADB’s Office of Pacific Operations (OPO) has several RETAs under preparation (to be implemented during the ADF VIII period) on various regional cooperation initiatives including development management information systems, human resource development for supreme audit institutions, and support for closer cooperation among central woman’s’ organizations for integrating gender and development considerations into policy and program implementation.

97. Donors recommended ADB examine how support for regional cooperation could be better organized, funded and implemented within the LTSF as a more focused and core part of ADB operations in DMCs taking into account ADB’s comparative advantage. In this context, Donors recommended that ADB should consider development of a regional operational strategy and allocate an appropriate amount of total lending in ADF VIII for regional and subregional cooperation projects representing priority investments in ADF borrowers and to report on this at the time of the ADF VIII Mid-Term Review.

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