Opening Remarks by
President Tadao Chino
Asian Development Bank

to NGO Participants

14 May 2004
ICC Jeju, Republic of Korea

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to meet with you today. I view the dialogue between civil society and ADB to be very important. This morning's discussion is one opportunity that allows me to get personally involved in this dialogue. During my tenure as ADB's President, my meetings with civil society-from women's groups in Pakistan to NGO representatives in Timor-Leste-have always been times well spent.

I am happy to see that our cooperation with civil society has continued to grow and deepen through our regular consultations on ADB-assisted activities and policy development, and through greater NGO participation in loans, technical assistance, and special grant funds. I am very pleased to announce that discussions on the eighth replenishment of the Asian Development Fund, ADF IX, just concluded successfully two days ago in Seoul. Donors reached agreement on an ADF IX program, covering four years from 2005 to 2008. Donors have also agreed to establish a grant program in ADF IX, for the first time in ADF history. These programs will profoundly contribute to ADB's efforts to fight poverty in the Asia and Pacific region where about 720 million people are living on less than $1 a day. ADF IX discussions are characterized by partnership among ADB, shareholders, and stakeholders including NGOs. NGOs were invited to actively participate in ADF discussions for the first time.

We have also been providing greater opportunities for concerned members of the public, including NGOs, to contribute their ideas to the development of our major policies. For example, our new Environment Policy adopted in 2002 was developed with inputs from hundreds of civil society representatives, in both developing and donor countries.

Over the past year we have been reviewing ADB's Poverty Reduction Strategy which was adopted in 1999. NGOs have been an integral part of this process, contributing their perspectives and experiences to help ensure that we are doing all that we can to implement this most fundamental of strategies in the most effective manner.

In addition, efforts have been made to increase civil society participation in the preparation of Country Strategy and Programs in selected countries as well as Regional Cooperation Strategies. Working together with Governments, we believe that early, substantive involvement by NGOs in these activities will strengthen our overall programs.

The context for ADB collaboration with civil society has changed considerably with the adoption in May last year of "ADB-Government-NGO Cooperation: A Framework for Action, 2003-2005." This document-prepared by reaching consensus among representatives from ADB, governments, and NGOs-serves as our institution-wide work plan to strengthen trilateral cooperation in the context of ADB operations. I encourage you to read it, if you have not already done so, and to provide us your feedback.

ADB's NGO Center has recently completed an assessment of how well we have implemented the Framework to date. I understand you have all received a copy. I am pleased with the progress, although I recognize that there are implementation gaps and weaknesses that must be addressed.

Now I would like to touch upon our efforts to improve ADB's accountability and transparency. As many of you know, ADB adopted the new Accountability Mechanism in May 2003 to address concerns of persons affected by ADB-assisted projects. The new Mechanism consists of a consultation phase and a compliance review phase. The first phase is meant to assist project-affected people through informal, consensus-based methods such as consultative dialogue and mediation. The second phase involves an independent panel that investigates the issues and makes recommendations based on their findings. The staff responsible for both phases are in place and actively pursuing their mandate.

I am confident that with support from all stakeholders, the Mechanism will fairly, and successfully address complaints of project-affected people, and establish an accessible process that increases ADB's accountability.

In 2003 we began a review of our policies on disclosure and information. The review has benefited from the active involvement of many NGOs, and led to the preparation of the draft "Public Communications Policy" (PCP), which will replace the existing policies.

The draft PCP puts increased emphases on explaining ADB's work, proactively sharing operational information, seeking feedback, and demonstrating development results. The draft policy has been written with the recognition that transparency strengthens the development process by encouraging debate, building closer partnerships with stakeholders, and broadening understanding of the Bank's role. ADB is now in the process of holding consultations on the PCP with stakeholders in 12 countries. Through these meetings, we hope to receive further valuable suggestions on how to ensure that the final policy serves its intended aims.

In closing, I would like to note that we have put more effort and resources into our collaboration with civil society to improve the quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of the activities we support in our developing member countries. In line with the Cooperation Framework, I very much look forward to ever closer and meaningful interaction with civil society groups in all of our member countries.

Now I would like to open the floor to your questions and comments. Thank you.