Source: Xinhua

05-06-2009 14:14

BALI, Indonesia, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) closed its annual meeting of Board of Governors here on Tuesday, after pledges of cooperation and showcases of confidence among the lender's 67 members.

The participating governors agreed to build on regional cooperation "through future policy dialogue and actions for establishing economic structures that are more resilient to fluctuations in external demand," as ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda summed up in his closing statement of the meeting.

"In this context, prioritized investment through public-private partnerships in a 'regional seamless economic structure', supported by modernized capital markets, would bring great benefits to developing nations of the region," Kuroda said in the statement.

Amid the crisis, ADB is probably closer to its motto -- fighting poverty in Asia and the Pacific -- than in many other moments of its history, especially after the governors admitted "a serious threat" is posed on the region's poorest and most vulnerable citizens, and undermines the region's progress towards achievement of all Millennium Development Goals.

During the meeting, there also has been much talk on whether Asia's economy would emerge from the crisis earlier than the rest of the world and when such recovery would take place. Many economists and officials, including ADB's Vice-President Zhao Xiaoyu and its Acting Chief Economist Jong-Wha Lee, expressed optimism to the first question, as long as Asia is doing a good job on implementing intra-regional cooperation and boosting domestic demand.

As for when, ADB has its dateline. "I'm cautiously optimistic that Asia will recover by the end of next year," the ADB President said at Tuesday's press conference.