Closing Statement by
Haruhiko Kuroda, President
Asian Development Bank
At the 39th Annual Meeting
6 May 2006
Hyderabad, India
Mr. Chairman, Governors of the Asian Development Bank, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Governors for offering your views on the region’s development challenges and opportunities. I particularly appreciate your insights on how ADB can best help developing member countries respond.
The Region
It is clear from our discussions that the Asia and Pacific region is in a period of immense change. If economic growth remains strong and its benefits are more widely shared, we can now envision our region approaching eradication of extreme poverty in the not-too-distant future. As I noted in my opening address, the number of people living on less than a dollar a day could fall to around 100 million by 2015 – the critical target year for meeting the MDGs.
Still, nearly 1.9 billion people in the region are poor, living on less than $2 a day. As the region grows more prosperous, the widening gap between rich and poor becomes less tolerable to all of us.
We all agree that more must be done to include the poor in the region’s plans for growth. Including the poor means investing in people: investing in rural development and basic human services, like health and education; and investing in infrastructure that directly benefits the poor by providing access to markets and services that can improve their standard of living.
As many Governors pointed out, progress on many non-income measures of poverty is frustratingly slow. All of us – the international community, developing member countries, development institutions and civil society – must work more closely together, with increased support for meeting the MDGs.
We all recognize, too, the critical importance of drawing more investment into the region to accomplish these large tasks, and of ensuring that the region’s further development is managed in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner.
The Asia and Pacific region appears poised to continue on its fast track of economic growth. But the positive outlook is clouded by a number of significant risks, including oil prices and energy security, global payments imbalances, health threats like avian flu, environmental threats, and the growing multitude of the unemployed and underemployed.
Looking at these challenges as a whole, we all recognize that working together is key to a future of stability, widespread prosperity and peace.
ADB in the Region
I appreciate the strong support Governors have voiced for ADB’s work in the past year. In particular, Governors praised ADB’s fast and effective response to the Indian Ocean tsunami, the South Asia earthquake and the avian flu.
Over the last two days, Governors expressed support for ADB’s strategic priorities, which are set out in MTS II: catalyzing investment, strengthening inclusiveness, promoting regional cooperation and integration, managing the environment, and improving governance and preventing corruption. Several Governors noted the efforts ADB has made to be more selective and focused.
Clearly, there is a broad consensus that ADB should continue to focus on inclusiveness and pro-poor growth. I am confident that MTS II will strengthen the impact of our assistance on poverty reduction, and better support the efforts of developing member countries to reduce poverty and attain the MDGs.
The provision of infrastructure is essential to ensure the poor can participate in and benefit from the region’s prosperity. As Governors noted, much more assistance is needed to meet the region’s huge infrastructure demands. In response, ADB is already scaling up infrastructure investments, particularly in the water and energy sectors.
We cannot over-emphasize, however, the crucial role of the private sector in meeting Asia’s infrastructure and other investment needs, improving productivity, and reducing poverty. MTS II recognizes private sector development as a core business for ADB and proposes to increase our efforts to help build vibrant, dynamic private sector environments in our DMCs.
Governors appreciated the specific emphasis of MTS II on improving governance and preventing corruption. In response to our recent review of ADB policies, we are developing an action plan to enhance ADB’s effectiveness in these areas. And, we are working closely with other MDBs to develop a common framework on anti-corruption.
I am gratified by Governors’ support for ADB’s efforts in regional cooperation and integration. We will further strengthen our support in this area, recognizing the different needs of various countries and subregions. We will remain in close consultation with our shareholders and other partners as we finalize our updated RCI strategy.
I thank Governors and our development partners for their strong support of ADB’s major new initiatives, particularly the Energy Efficiency Initiative and the Carbon Fund, the Innovation and Efficiency Initiative, and our post-emergency reconstruction programs. These initiatives will make a substantial contribution to MDG attainment, and strong partnerships are essential to make them successful.
Some of these initiatives are enabling us to be more responsive to the needs of middle income countries. We now intend to follow through with similar efforts to address the specific needs of weakly performing countries.
As several Governors noted, ADB must continue to implement internal reforms, strengthen its focus on results, and improve transparency and accountability. I assure you that we are fully committed to doing so. Ongoing change and institutional renewal is critical for any organization involved in such a dynamic region of the world. Our ADF IX Mid-Term Review, to be conducted in December of this year, will give us an opportunity to provide a full accounting of our progress.
Concluding remarks
Ladies and gentlemen – colleagues:
As our 39 th Annual Meeting draws to a close, I would like to reaffirm, on behalf of the ADB Board of Directors, Management and staff, our continued commitment to working with all of you to achieve the MDGs and realize the dream of a region free of poverty.
It has been a privilege to meet with you to discuss the great progress of the Asia and Pacific region, and how we will ensure this progress continues.
I would like to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to the Chairman, the Honorable Sri P. Chidambaram, Minister of Finance of India, for the excellent arrangements. And I especially want to thank the city and the people of Hyderabad, including the many who have supported this meeting, for their warm hospitality and assistance throughout our stay.
I congratulate the Governor for Japan, who will serve as Chairman of the Board of Governors for the coming year.
Finally, I want to wish all of you a safe and pleasant journey home. I look forward to seeing you next year when we will meet in Kyoto to celebrate ADB’s 40 th Annual Meeting. Thank you, and best wishes to all of you.
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