Annual meeting of bank’s board of governors starts today: ADB, UK establish fund to improve trade, connectivity

MANILA: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Kingdom on Wednesday launched the Asia Regional Trade and Connectivity Fund (ARTCF) to address challenges of regional integration.

UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) will provide an initial contribution of up to $30 million to the fund. The UK government has contributed $3.09 billion in capital subscription to ADB and committed $1.43 billion to the bank’s special funds since joining in 1966 as a founding member of the bank. The fund, to be administered by ADB, will provide support to address some of the frontier challenges ADB members face in improving regional integration, such as enabling private sector development and addressing regional public goods.

“ADB’s partnership with DFID will help further our ambitious knowledge-driven agenda and ensure that our members have access to the most effective, evidence-based solutions to further their regional integration goals,” ADB Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono said in a statement. “Let me extend my special appreciation to DFID for its support on new regional cooperation and integration areas.”

The fund will initially focus on eight Central and South Asian countries, specifically Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.

ARTCF will help the selected ADB developing member countries to identify and design projects that improve cross-border transport, energy, and information and communications technology infrastructure in line with ADB’s operational plan for regional cooperation and integration 2016–2020. It will also help recipients of the fund tackle red tape and regulatory bottlenecks, provide financing for regional projects to increase their poverty reduction and gender impacts, and strengthen the capacity of the member countries for prospective investments.

ADB estimated the region’s fund requirements for infrastructure development at $1.7 trillion a year until 2030.

“One of ADB’s core goals is to help our member countries work, trade, and connect more easily with each other and across the region,” ADB Vice-President for Private Sector and Cofinancing Operations Diwakar Gupta said.

“ADB’s partnership with DFID will strengthen regional cooperation and integration operations while addressing some of the region’s most important development priorities.”

Meanwhile, over 3,000 participants, including finance ministers, central bank governors, private sector representatives, development partners, academics, members of civil society, and the media are expected to gather on 3-6 May at the ADB headquarters for the 51st annual meeting of ADB’s board of governors.

The latest draft of ADB’s long-term strategy, Strategy 2030, will be discussed at the governors' plenary as ADB aims to finalise the document this year. The theme of the 2018 annual meeting is “Linking People and Economies for Inclusive Development”, a separate statement said.

The meeting will look at global and regional issues affecting development in Asia and the Pacific, while exploring how ADB and its development partners can work together toward a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable region by 2030.

Various other events will be held during the annual meeting, including seminars focused on addressing gender gaps through women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment; the private sector's increasing role in meeting Asia's huge infrastructure needs; new technologies in finance; investing in community-led solutions for climate and disaster resilience; and promoting inclusive growth through inter-subregional cooperation.