Turkish PM to Give Address at ADB Annual Meeting in Istanbul

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (1 May 2005) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will give an address during an event at the Asian Development Bank's (ADB's) 38th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors later this week in Istanbul, it was announced today.

Mr. Erdogan will speak immediately after a cultural event on Thursday evening at the Lutfi Kirdar Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center.

The Annual Meeting opens on Wednesday when ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda joins Chairman of the Board of Governors and Undersecretary of Treasury Ibrahim Canakci for the opening ceremony.

About 3,000 delegates are expected to gather for the three-day event, which brings together senior economic and finance planning government officials, ministers, academics, journalists, business people, investment bankers, and representatives of international organizations and nongovernment organizations (NGOs).

The official program starts tomorrow with an Open Forum on ADB-NGO Cooperation and a seminar on the Challenges of Implementing Legal Reforms in Asia - the first in a high-level seminar series that runs until Friday.

On the sidelines, ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Deputies will hold meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the next steps in strengthening monetary and financial cooperation in East Asia. There will also be on Tuesday the first Informal Meeting of South Asian Finance Ministers.

Contact Person

Graham Dwyer
Tel. No. (+90-212) 241-8000 loc. 2548
E-mail: gdwyer@adb.org