Nadi /MONTSAME/. An official opening of the 52nd Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors has held today in Nadi, Fiji. This year’s meeting has gathered over 3000 delegates involving Finance ministers, central bank governors, government and private sector representatives from Asia and the Pacific.

Mongolian delegation comprising Finance Minister Ch.Khurelbaatar, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mongolia B.Lkhagvasuren and others are attending the annual meeting, a premier forum for the discussion of economic and social development issues in Asia and the Pacific. 

At the opening, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and ADB President Takehiko Nakao delivered speeches respectively.

In his speech, Mr. Takehiko Nakao emphasizing that responding to the changing needs of Asia and the Pacific will be at the center of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) actions to implement Strategy 2030.

Mr. Takehiko Nakao also highlighted six areas that ADB considers essential to the strategy’s success. First, he said a key priority for ADB will be to continue addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities across Asia and the Pacific. “We will strengthen our support to the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the region, including those in fragile and conflict-affected situations and many small island developing states,” said Mr. Nakao. ADB is supporting this year’s G20 initiative of universal health coverage.

The next five key areas include: ADB is accelerating progress in gender equality and will develop a strong pipeline of projects that integrate gender equality designs into a range of operations, including transport, energy, and urban infrastructure; climate mitigation and adaptation efforts across the Pacific will be an important focus for ADB; it will continue supports for regional cooperation and integration; and ADB will continue to expand its private sector lending, equity investments, and guarantees to reach one third of total operations in number by 2024.

About the last key area, ADB will use concessional resources effectively and will develop a detailed proposal for the next Asian Development Bank replenishment: ADB 13. It is also seeking strong donor support for its trust funds and actively mobilizing concessional resources from bilateral and multilateral partners such as the Green Climate Fund and Global Environment Facility.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to USD21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

                                                                                                                                                                                 B. Ooluun