US Delegate Praises ADB as 'Relevant, Reforming, Responsive'

JEJU, REPUBLIC OF KOREA (17 May 2004) - The attendance at ADB's Annual Meeting in Jeju this weekend is a mark of the organization's growing importance as a "relevant, reforming, and responsive institution," ADB's Executive Director for the United States, Paul Speltz, said yesterday.

Speaking at a news conference during ADB's 37th Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors, he said: "The level of government representatives and the attendance here from throughout this part of the world should be seen as a recognition of the growing importance of the Asian Development Bank as a relevant, reforming, and responsive institution."

He was speaking alongside head of delegation, John B. Taylor, the Under-Secretary for International Affairs of the US Department of Treasury, who said that the US has been working with ADB and other international finance institutions to implement four core principles of his Government's development policy:

• More assistance should be provided in the form of grants rather than loans
• Development assistance should be subject to rigorous measurable results
• Support should be targeted to countries that pursue pro-poor growth policies.

"In the past several years, ADB has responded to these principles," Mr. Taylor said.

He added that the US gave a "significant increase" of 12% in its contribution to ADB's concessional lending instrument, the Asian Development Fund, in its ninth replenishment (ADF IX), in line with other international assistance commitments. The negotiations for ADF IX concluded last week in Seoul.

In a statement to ADB's Board of Governors yesterday, Mr. Taylor said the US will consider additional support to ADB, "contingent upon the achievement of critical benchmarks for reform."

He applauded the decision of donors to devote 21% of assistance under ADF IX starting in 2005. Through this, the region's poorest and most vulnerable countries will get up to 50% of ADB assistance in the form of grants rather than loans, Mr. Taylor said.

"We would like to see the flexibility and country focus of this model adopted by other financial institutions…" the statement said.