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Governor's Seminar

Opening Remarks by
Haruhiko Kuroda
President, Asian Development Bank

4 May 2008
Madrid, Spain

Honorable Governors and Alternate Governors, distinguished guests, ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the Governors' Seminar. On behalf of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, and staff, I would like to thank the Governors and Alternate Governors present as well as the two panelists for agreeing to participate in this Seminar. Also I would like to thank Mr. Nik Gowing of BBC for acting as the moderator.

At last year's Governors' Seminar in Kyoto, Japan, I spoke of my intent to complete the re-examination of ADB's long-term strategy by the time of this year's Annual Meeting. Today, I am very pleased to say that we have accomplished this important task. Thanks in no small part to the support, cooperation, and encouragement of our stakeholders, both within and outside of Asia, ADB now has in place a new long-term strategic framework-Strategy 2020. We have a clear vision, an established mission, and definite strategic directions in moving towards the year 2020.

Strategy 2020 reaffirms our vision of an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. We will pursue this vision through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. ADB will be an agent and partner for change, by emphasizing private sector development, good governance, gender equity, knowledge solutions, and partnerships. To maximize the impact, we will focus our operations in five areas: infrastructure, environment, regional cooperation and integration, finance sector development, and education. At the same time, we will flexibly and quickly respond to emergent development needs. This is reflected in our commitment to work with the affected governments in the region to alleviate the impact of rising food prices on the poor, while also planning other investments to sustain higher farm output.

In preparing to implement Strategy 2020, we will benefit greatly from your views, recommendations, and insights. I look forward to an open and active discussion on Strategy 2020, and to opportunities and the road ahead for ADB.

Thank you.