VietNamNet Bridge - ADB has wrapped up the 44th Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors in Hanoi, Vietnam and announced that the 2012 meeting would take place in Manila, Philippines.

ADB’s meeting in Hanoi started on Tuesday and gathered a record number of around 4,000 delegates including finance ministers and other key policymakers, business leaders, and academics. Civil society representatives and media also attended in record numbers.

Key issues at this year’s meeting included soaring food and fuel prices, infrastructure and connectivity, and climate change as well as how Asia and the Pacific can ensure a prosperous future in coming decades.

Record high commodity prices are already pushing millions back below the $1.25 a day poverty line. Meanwhile, rising energy usage in Asia and the Pacific is deepening the region’s carbon footprint.

These, along with economic and demographic issues, need to be tackled if developing Asia’s 3.3 billion people are to improve their livelihoods in the immediate and the longer term.

Initial findings of ADB’s study, Asia 2050—Realizing the Asian Century, presented at a seminar on Wednesday, said Asia and the Pacific could account for half of the world economy by 2050, up from around a quarter now, if it deals with these issues head on.

Asia-Pacific’s growing economic clout also needs to be reflected in a change to the international monetary system with the region assuming a larger role and greater responsibility for global monetary and economic stability, said participants at another high-level seminar on Wednesday.

That ADB-IMF-Japanese ASEAN+3 Co-chair-French G20 Presidency seminar gathered ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda with French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde; Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee; Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda; and Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Naoyuki Shinohara.

The Board of Governors is ADB’s highest policy-making body and the annual meetings are statutory occasions at which Governors can provide guidance on ADB’s administrative, financial, and operational priorities.

Asia urged to build new growth engines to offset weak demand

Developing Asia must adapt its export-driven model and develop new engines of growth if the region is to sustain the robust economic expansion it has enjoyed in recent decades, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda said.

“A growth model which worked well for a low-income, capital-scarce region will not work for a middle-income, capital-abundant region,” Mr. Kuroda said during a seminar at ADB’s 44th Annual Meeting and held jointly with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The joint ADB-IMF seminar, “Nurturing New Engines of Growth,” explored a range of strategies for developing Asia to recalibrate its growth strategy.

These include enhancing access to finance and strengthening social safety nets in order to reduce precautionary savings and boost spending; increasing investment in infrastructure – especially by inducing greater private sector participation; removing policy distortions that favor manufacturing and exports to countries outside the region; and enacting policies to stimulate trade within Asia and the Pacific.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara noted that Asia’s extraordinary economic gains in recent decades stemmed largely from manufacturing exports to advanced economies.

But the global economic crisis and slow growth in most G7 economies underscore the need for Asia to develop domestic markets and stimulate intra-regional trade.

“Growth in Asia should lead to the creation of enough private sector jobs to absorb the currently unemployed and a fast-growing labor force. It needs to promote equal access to economic opportunity for citizens to realize their potential, and provide social protection for the vulnerable,” Mr. Shinohara said.

Korea, Australia to co-finance ADB’s development projects

The governments of Korea and Australia have clinched deals with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to co-finance its social welfare and development projects in Asia and the Pacific.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda and Korea Minister of Strategy and Finance Jeung-Hyun Yoon have signed an agreement, extending Korea’s support for ADB development projects in Asia and the Pacific, in Hanoi.

Under the agreement, Korea will provide $550 million through its Economic Cooperation Development Fund over three years starting today to help co-finance ADB projects and programs.

Key areas of focus for the co-financing include renewable energy, water, sustainable transport, education, finance, and governance reform.

The funding from Korea can be used to fund government projects and programs in any of ADB’s 44 developing member countries.

Officials from ADB and Korea will meet at least once a year to identify potential co-financing opportunities, review existing projects and programs, and to discuss areas of future collaboration.

The latest memorandum of understanding extends and expands a previous $500 million, three-year agreement that expired at the end of 2010.

“This agreement shows Korea’s firm commitment to helping some of the poorer nations in Asia and the Pacific to reach the high levels of development seen in Korea,” said Mr. Kuroda.

The government of Australia has agreed to provide an untied grant of A$21.584 million for Asian Development Bank (ADB)-administered trust funds targeted at water investment and clean energy initiatives in Asia and the Pacific.

It is contributing A$15 million to the Water Financing Partnership Facility, on top of an initial contribution of A$10 million.

The fund, established in 2006, aims to provide more people in Asia and the Pacific with better access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation, more efficient irrigation and drainage services, and to integrate the management of water resources in river basins for sustained economic growth and environmental improvement.

Other contributors include the governments of Austria, Netherlands, Norway, and Spain.

In addition, the Australian Government is contributing A$6.584 million to be paid in 2011, 2012 and 2013 to the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility (CEFPF).

This facility was established in 2007 to help improve energy security in developing member countries and decrease the rate of climate change. It does this by financing new, more efficient and less polluting technologies.

Australia has already contributed A$7 million to the facility. Other CEFPF partners include the governments of Japan, Norway, Spain, and Sweden and the Global CCS Institute.

“Australia’s valuable contributions to the Water Financing Partnership Facility and the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility are very much appreciated,” said Tadashi Kondo, Head of ADB’s Office of Co-financing Operations.

It will strongly support ADB’s goal of providing 200 million people with safe drinking water and improved sanitation, delivering 40 million people with better irrigation and drainage services, deploy new clean energy technology, lower barriers to adopting clean energy technologies, and actively encourage clean energy programs in the region where they are needed most,” Kondo added.

Annual consultations will be held between AusAID and ADB to review the initiatives and the results of the funds.

ADB steps up assistance for environment: report

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has stepped up assistance for projects and programs that support environmentally sustainable development in member countries, says a new report.

The Sustainability Report, the third to be issued by ADB, details the broad range of measures taken to promote environmental sustainability, inclusive growth, and improved governance in Asia and the Pacific during 2009 and 2010.

It notes that in 2010, lending for projects with environmental objectives reached $4.8 billion, with the number of projects up more than 50 percent from the year earlier--the highest number since 1995.

"The report highlights how ADB continues to make substantive progress in promoting environmental sustainability in the Asia and Pacific region and in reducing its own ecological footprint," said Nessim Ahmad, ADB’s Director for Environment and Safeguards.

One key focus area has been climate change, with ADB increasing assistance for programs that help developing member countries adopt a less carbon intensive growth path and help them adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

It has also supported members to boost the sustainability of their agriculture and natural resource management systems, build new water supply and sanitation infrastructure, and respond more effectively to natural disasters.

The report documents ADB’s own efforts to reduce its environmental footprint and to conserve resources. These include expanded use of videoconferencing and electronic communications to lower greenhouse gas emissions and the reduced use of water, electricity, and paper.

ADB is also tapping solar power as a supplementary energy source at its Manila headquarters and is harvesting rainwater.

The report highlights ADB’s progress in implementing its Safeguard Policy Statement which was introduced in early 2010 to promote sustainability of ADB projects through stronger safeguards for the environment, involuntary resettlement and indigenous peoples.

The report follows an outline that is in keeping with international norms for sustainability reporting and is made available mainly online to reduce its environmental footprint.

Source: Tuoi tre