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HYDERABAD, INDIA - Asia has reached a critical moment for which the response now will shape the region’s future, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda told media on the opening day of ADB’s Annual Meeting in Hyderabad.

“ADB’s role in the region’s response will feature prominently among the issues we will be discussing over the next few days,” Mr. Kuroda told almost 200 journalists at a special briefing session.

“We have a busy, wide ranging agenda ahead of us and I am sure we will have lively debate and discussion on these and many other critical development issues.”

Up to 2,500 delegates are expected for the 39th Annual Meeting, which runs until Saturday at the Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC). Besides media, the event brings together senior government officials, academics, business people, investment bankers, and representatives of international organizations and NGOs.

Mr. Kuroda told media that many Asians are benefiting from the region’s dynamic growth. “The number of people in absolute poverty – living on less than $1 a day is rapidly declining,” he said.

“But I have also seen how many others still live in the shadow of persistent poverty. This is a major challenge – to bridge the widening gap between rich and poor; to ensure the poor are included in, and benefit from, economic growth.”

He said there is a number of challenges to be met if this is to be achieved, including ensuring access to basic services, such as clean water and sanitation, and the education and training needed to get jobs. Other challenges are ensuring that growth does not come at the expense of the environment and addressing regulatory weaknesses, policy uncertainty, and market distortions.

The President answered questions from the media on issues ranging from ADB’s job creation policies and how it will implement inclusive growth, to how oil prices are affecting inflation and poverty reduction and expected outcomes from holding the Annual Meeting in India.

The Annual Meeting's formal Opening Session takes place at the HICC on Friday, 5 May. Annual meetings are statutory occasions for the Governors of ADB members to provide guidance on ADB administrative, financial, and operational directions. It is ADB's second to be held in India, following one in New Delhi in 1990.

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