Board of Directors' Report - Year in Review

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2002 in Review: Board of Directors' Report

Reconstructing nations

Supporting regional cooperation

Reorganizing internally

Adopting new policies and procedures

Reviewing existing policies

Broadening development partnerships

Undertaking its Work

Board committees

Annual Report 2002

Broadening development partnerships

Management and the Directors visited several DMCs in 2002, and met with senior government officials and high-level representatives from multilateral and bilateral organizations.

President’s visits

ADB President Tadao Chino traveled widely in 2002, visiting projects, meeting ADB stakeholders, and participating in major international events.

In meetings with senior officials, representatives of the private sector and NGOs, as well as other development partners, the President noted the need for basic physical and social infrastructure to achieve higher levels of sustainable, pro-poor economic growth. He also noted the need to address corruption and improve the efficiency of administrative services.
Within the region, the President visited Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste. During his visit to Bangladesh, the President helped set the foundation stone for ADB’s new resident mission building in Dhaka, and attended the Bangladesh Resident Mission’s 20th anniversary celebration. In the Maldives and Sri Lanka, the President strengthened cooperation and signed poverty partnership agreements with both.

35th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was host to over 3,000 participants, comprising government delegations, bankers, representatives from multilateral and bilateral institutions, civil society including nongovernment organizations, and media, at ADB’s 35th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Shanghai. Delegates attended thematic seminars and country presentations prior to the Governors’ business sessions from 10 to 12 May.

The Governors reviewed ADB’s 2001 activities and discussed the outlook for ADB’s developing member countries. They endorsed the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, ADB’s reorganization, and proposals to enhance ADB’s country focus, as well as its continuing efforts to promote regional cooperation. Echoing the importance of regional cooperation, PRC President Jiang Zemin pledged his country’s continued support of, and involvement in, cooperation initiatives.

The Governors agreed on the need for Asian economies to continue with structural reforms, capacity building, and improved governance if they are to attain sustainable growth. The challenge of environmental degradation and the importance of the private sector in development were also underscored.

For a list of ADB annual meeting locations, see Appendix 3.

Supporting the Board

The Office of the Secretary provides advice and counsel to the Board of Governors, Board of Directors, and Office of the President. Its other principal functions are to help organize the Annual Meeting; plan the calendar of the Board of Directors and organize and facilitate meetings of the Board and its Standing Committees; edit, classify, and circulate Board documents; administer the terms and conditions of engagement of Management and the Board; process applications for ADB membership; administer the Inspection Function; and provide protocol support and services.

The President joined other multilateral development bank presidents at the UN International Conference on Financing for Development, held in March in Monterrey, Mexico. Among the themes addressed were mobilizing domestic financial resources and foreign direct investment; and issues related to international trade, official development assistance, debt relief, and trading systems. The President also led the ADB delegation at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in August and September in Johannesburg, South Africa (see Box on the World Summit).

Board group visits

To increase DMC awareness of ADB’s work and provide the Directors and Alternate Directors with an opportunity to view the development conditions of DMCs firsthand, several Directors and Alternates took part in group visits to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in February; Indonesia in June; and Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in August.

In each DMC, the Directors and Alternates met the leader of the country, senior government officials, ADB governors, public and private sector representatives, and members of civil society, including NGOs.

In Pakistan, the Directors and Alternates visited the Khushali Bank, Punjab Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Ghazi Barotha Project, barani/forestry/urban development projects, and Court Room Delay Reduction Project. In Sri Lanka, they met with representatives of the 800,000 displaced people, and looked at road networks, tea plantations, and the South Asia Gateway Terminals Limited.

In Indonesia, topics addressed with senior government officials included fiscal, monetary, and other economic issues; decentralization; privatization; and social development. Partnerships were strengthened with representatives of the private sector and of other multilateral and bilateral agencies, including the Australian Agency for International Development, Japan International Cooperation Agency, United Nations Development Programme, United States Agency for International Development, and World Bank. Project and field visits included observing firsthand ADB projects on flood control storage and street children and destitute mother care centers, as well as education facilities to view the traditional madrasah school system.

In the Kyrgyz Republic, the Directors and Alternates visited ADB’s microcredit and school projects in the Issyk-Kul Lake area, and the Bishkek-Osh Road Project. In Turkmenistan, they visited a potential project site aimed at improving the main road from Atamurat to Imamnazar on the northern Afghanistan border, and they were briefed on other projects of interest to the Turkmenistan people. In Uzbekistan, they were taken to Samarkand, where they visited an ADB project that supports the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Agreements Signed

ADB joined the international community in adopting a platform for better measuring, monitoring, and managing development results in March, and in adopting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in April. ADB also forged several agreements with development partners in 2002, such as ILO and WTO, to strengthen the region’s knowledge base, training capacity, and ability to monitor development objectives.

Partnership Point

International Labour Organization

ADB joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) in promoting ILO’s Decent Work Agenda. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with ILO in 2002, ADB encourages developing member countries (DMCs) to support employment-generating growth and observe international labor standards, including social protection and gender equity. Collaboration between ADB and ILO includes exchanging information, research, best practices, and technical assistance related to labor market assessments and identifying social protection interventions.
In July 2002, ILO and ADB discussed mainstreaming ILO’s core labor standards in ADB’s country operations in 2003–2005, such as in the summary labor market assessments required in preparing new country strategies and programs (CSPs) and CSP updates. See http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2002/ICFTU_APRO/blenk_paper.pdf.

World Trade Organization

An MOU between ADB and the World Trade Organization (WTO), signed in 2002, supports ADB’s efforts to promote the economic and social development of DMCs through trade and integration. In its first major activity under the agreement, ADB approved a regional technical assistance to help DMCs better understand and implement the WTO trading system. A high-level meeting on the WTO trading system for negotiators and an intensive course on trade facilitation were completed in 2002 (see http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2002/WTO_Trading_System/).

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Inspection Function

Undertaking its Work

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