ADB and German Development Cooperation Sign Agreement for Cooperation

ISTANBUL, TURKEY (4 May 2005) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the German Development Cooperation (GDC) today signified their intent to cooperate with each other on areas of mutual interest, and to enhance opportunities for collaboration.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda and the Permanent Secretary of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation Uschi Eid signed a Letter of Intent during the ADB President's meeting with the German delegation today, immediately before the opening ceremony of ADB's 38th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Istanbul.

"ADB believes that collaboration with GDC will strengthen institutional capacities in both organizations, and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of their respective resources," Mr. Kuroda says.

The two institutions will explore possibilities for effective collaboration in areas such as education, water supply and sanitation, energy, transport, health and nutrition, finance, urban development, and environmental sustainability.

The collaboration between ADB and GDC may involve cofinancing of investment projects and policy programs, development of new financing instruments, sponsoring joint seminars or conferences, promotion of staff exchanges, as well as regular exchange of information on their respective regional and country programs and on other areas of common interest.

ADB's Annual Meeting, being held from today to Friday, gathers around 3,000 delegates from around the world, including senior government officials, academics, journalists, business people, investment bankers, and representatives of international organizations and nongovernment organizations.

ADB is a major development institution in the Asia and Pacific region dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance.

GDC aims to achieve a global structural and peace policy, to help resolve crises and conflicts in a peaceful manner, to ensure that scarce resources are more equitably shared, and that the natural environment is preserved for coming generations. It also aims to help reduce poverty.

At present, GDC comprises the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, KfW Development Bank, GTZ, Capacity Building International, German Development Service, Centre for International Migration, and German Investment and Development Company.

Contact Person

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