DUSHANBE, April 6, 2015, Asia-Plus — About 3,000 government officials, business leaders, investors, journalists, and representatives from civil society will gather on May 2-5 at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) 48th Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors, according to the ADB Tajikistan Resident Mission (TJRM).
The theme of the 2015 Annual Meeting is “Fostering Partnership for Development,” which underscores the importance of leveraging resources and strengthening collaboration between ADB, its members, and other multilateral and bilateral partners.
This is the first time the meeting will be held in the South Caucasus, and enhancing cooperation and integration within this region and Central Asia will be the focus of one of the panel discussions.
Tajik delegation, led by First Deputy Prime Minister Davlatali Saidov, will participate in the meeting.
In Baku, the flagship Governors Seminar will discuss the Asia and Pacific region’s growth potential. It will also look at policies being developed by countries to adapt their own economic growth models to changing internal and external environments to help sustain economic expansion and further reduce poverty.
For the second year in a row, international broadcaster CNBC will moderate a TV debate about Asia’s economic outlook, while the International Monetary Fund will co-host a panel discussion on financial sector development. Private infrastructure financing will be the focus of a joint seminar with the World Economic Forum.
Other panels will tackle how to provide the right environment for public-private partnerships; development effectiveness; how to make burgeoning Asian cities more livable and resilient to climate change; universal health coverage; gender equity, and innovation.
Tajikistan joined ADB in 1998 and, to date, ADB has approved total assistance of around $1.3 billion in concessional loans, grants, and technical assistance to the country. The ADB-Tajikistan partnership has promoted social development, upgraded and built new infrastructure, expanded agricultural production, and encouraged regional cooperation and trade under the CAREC Program.
ADB, based in Manila, dedicates itself to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the Asia-Pacific region.
