High Hopes For The Future

A second ministerial conference under a banner of the Asian Development Bank has been opened today at Tashkent. It is scheduled to last two days. According to the information obtained from SOM, the main goal of the conference is to finalize reports of the senior officials and to revise some of the drafts of the ministerial statements. The following countries will participate in delegations: Azrbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia,Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Afghanistan, Iran, Japan and Russia are participating as observing countries while ADB, EBRD, IMF, IDB,UNDP, WB,IFC are participating as international financial institutions.

As far as the opening ceremony is concerned, president of the Asian Development Bank Mr.Tadao Chino has announced that cooperation is a necessity in Central Asia, not a choice. The promotion of regional cooperation is one of our primary goals to enable us to put an end to poverty in Asia and Pacific. He also spoke of Central Asia as having a proud history and a dynamic future. The opening ceremony has been attended by Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Ministers  Rustam Azimov and Elyor Ganiev. The Government Advisor Mr. Saed Ahmad Rahimov read the message of the uzbek president Islam Karimov and wished for a positive outcome of the conference.
 
According to the journal of ADB, it has been calculated that 900 million people in the region -about 15% of all humanity survive on less than $1 a day. The bank found this unacceptable. Now the bank works closely with their 62 members and other partners to identify the key areas where their loans and grants will show greatest results in reducing poverty, creating sustainable economic growth and improving lives of the poor. The first and most crucial goal of this bank is to aid those living on less than $1 a day by 2015.

(ADB) Asian Development Bank  Facts:
Established:1966   Member:62     
Total loans in 2002: $5.7 billion   
Top Borrowers in 2002: India,Pakistan,China,Indonesia.
Loans by Sector(%),2002: Transport and communications(28), Energy(18), Finance(15), Social Infrastructure(12), Agriculture and Natural Resources(9).

Aloke Shekhar
Pravda.Ru