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Annual Report 2004 :
2004 in Review: Board of Directors' Report
Development Partnerships
ADB continued to provide support for global partnerships to (i) enhance joint efforts with agencies such as the United Nations, other international finance institutions, and bilateral donors; (ii) contribute to global forums; and (iii) take part in combined efforts to develop indicators and other monitoring and evaluation instruments.
For more effective operations, ADB continued to delegate responsibility to the field with the opening of new resident missions in Baku, Azerbaijan and Bangkok, Thailand; a subregional office in Suva, Fiji Islands; and the establishment of a liaison and coordination office for the Pacific in Sydney, Australia.
During the Asian Development Fund (ADF) IX negotiations in 2003–2004, ADB outlined a systematic approach to implementing MfDR at the country and institutional levels and as part of a global partnership. This will mean greater selectivity, a stronger orientation toward results, better alignment with DMC priorities and systems, and greater cooperation with other agencies. Donors endorsed an ADF IX program of $7 billion for 1 January 2005–31 December 2008 plus additional amounts for financing foregone interest on grants. This is significantly higher than the $5.65 billion agreed during ADF VIII.
A cooperation fund in support of MfDR was established in July 2004 with an initial grant from Canada complemented by a contribution from the Netherlands. The fund totals about $1.7 million and will be used to pilot small-scale DMC initiatives that promote results-based approaches and techniques in public sector management.
Indicative of its active engagement in regional and international issues was ADB's support for and participation in the following.
- ADB cosponsored two MfDR regional workshops: one in Bangkok with Japan and a second in Bishkek with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development.
- ADB chaired the Multilateral Development Bank Working Group on Managing for Development Results and cochaired the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's—Development Assistance Committee Joint Venture on Managing for Development Results.
- ADB hosted a high-level meeting on health and environment with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme with participation of key institutions from the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), People's Republic of China (PRC), Japan, Republic of Korea, and Mongolia.
- ADB established the Japan Fund for Public Policy Training (JFPPT) in March 2004 as a trust fund to enhance capacitybuilding for public policy management in DMCs. The JFPPT program will focus on regional economies in transition. The aim is to arrange partnerships with local academic entities and to acquire assistance from world-class public policy institutions to jointly develop and conduct high quality training programs, primarily in local languages. The training program curricula should cover a wide range of public policy issues for government officials, including analytical skills in planning and implementing public economic policy. The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADB Institute) was designated to administer the JFPPT program. Viet Nam was selected for pilot activities. On 30 March 2004, Japan made an initial contribution to the trust fund in the amount of 905 million yen ($8.58 million). In 2004, the JFPPT unit conducted two demonstration courses, entered into agreements with local institutions in Viet Nam, and began establishing a training facility in Hanoi.
- ADB established a trust fund to strengthen assistance to its DMCs in fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Cooperation Fund for Regional Trade and Financial Security Initiative was set up through initial contributions by the governments of Australia, Japan, and United States. The fund will support technical assistance to enhance port security (including airports, cargo ports, and containers) and to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism in developing countries.
- ADB joined the ASEAN+3 finance ministers and the ASEAN Deputy Secretary General in launching AsianBondsOnline, a one-stop clearinghouse of information on the rapidly growing sovereign and corporate bond markets in the region. Supported by ADB and financed by the Government of Japan, AsianBondsOnline is part of the ASEAN+3 Asian Bond Markets Initiative, a cooperative effort to help develop mature bond markets in the region.
- ADB joined the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in adopting a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS in a report entitled “Asia-Pacific's Opportunity: Investing to Avert an HIV/AIDS Crisis.” The report suggests that if prompt action is not taken, by the end of the decade 10 million more people could be infected with HIV, and the economic costs of the virus could have risen to $17.5 billion annually. The result would be millions more people thrown into poverty. ADB has already earmarked $140 million from its ADF as grant money for combating HIV.
- ADB and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) signed a revised memorandum of understanding in May that follows up on commitments they made at the Monterrey conference and Johannesburg summit to achieve the MDGs. The new, results-oriented agreement emphasizes regional cooperation, capacity development, protecting the environment, and poverty reduction.
- In response to the rapidly increasing number of road accidents, ASEAN and ADB initiated a regional road safety program with input and participation from a wide range of public and private sector stakeholders. The 10 members each prepared 5-year national road safety action plans and will implement them cooperatively. They also prepared a regional road safety strategy and action plan to monitor implementation of the national plans, to develop capacity, and to provide training.
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