| Phl to showcase economic gains in ADB Board Meeting in Manila May 01, 2012 Philippine Star |
MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippines will showcase the economic gains of the two-year old administration of President Benigno Aquino during the 45th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which will open Wednesday at the sprawling Philippine International Convention Center here, an senior official was quoted as saying today.
In an interview with the Philippine Star, a leading Manila daily, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said that the four-day meeting which Philippines is again hosting after 10 years, is " like a coming out party of the Aquino administration" where the government can display to the world the reforms and changes now taking place in the country.
Some 4,000 delegates from 67 countries that would include financial and economic officials will attend the ADB meeting.
According to Purisima, through the event, the administration hopes to impress dignitaries from the world's monetary and financial institutions about the progress of the Philippines. " Good governance is good economics. That's what we want to show," he said.
Earlier, Governor Amando Tetangco of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank, said the ADB meeting would give an opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to discuss means to improve their resilience given the lingering ill effects of unfavorable economic events outside the region.
Tetangco said being host to this year's convention, the Philippines deems it proper to take the lead in discussing issues that will help emerging Asian markets in responding to global shocks.
"It's an opportunity for ASEAN countries to discuss how we can further intensify regional cooperation given the challenges brought about by what is happening in Europe and the rest of the world," Tetangco said.
Under the financial integration plan of ASEAN member countries, their financial systems will be linked to facilitate more economic activities within the region and, thereby, accelerate their growth.
With better economic-growth opportunities in the region, member- countries would no longer have to rely heavily on countries outside the region, officials said.
The United States and the Eurozone are major export markets for goods produced by the Philippines and other emerging Asian countries. However, demand from these areas has been falling due to their economic problems.
BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said although the ADB meeting would not have an immediate impact on poverty reduction, it would intensify peer pressure among ASEAN nations to work harder to bridge the income gap among rich and poor nations.
"It will pose a challenge to central bankers and policy makers that there's slippage in terms of implementation of policies that would reduce poverty," Guinigundo said.
Finance Undersecretary Rosalia de Leon, the head of the Manila 2012 Country Host Secretariat, said that while the Philippines can highlight its development programs during the meeting, "we can also have the perspective of other countries, including ways on how to alleviate poverty."
During the meeting, three important ADB and ADB Institute (ADBI) projects will be presented, including ADBI's flagship project: Climate Change and Green Asia.
Also during the meeting, the ADB would unveil the mechanics of its 12 billion US dollars soft loan facility, which it hopes to raise despite a bleak global economic scenario.
ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda earlier said the expected 12 billion US dollars figure was for the next four-year cycle of the ADB development fund beginning in 2013.
The four-year cycle ending this year was worth slightly more than 11 billion US dollars, he said.
The ADB provides concessional loans to its 67 member countries to fund various projects, from schools and bridges to health clinics and roads, with the aim of improving the lives of the region's poorest.
Kuroda said major negotiations for contributions to the fund were carried out in the past six months, with Japan again emerging as the biggest donor and the ADB waiting for other countries to confirm their pledges.
The final figure will be announced during the Manila meeting.
While donors agreed that there was an urgent need to finance development work around the region, the global economic uncertainty had made it difficult for many to dip into their purses, Kuroda said.
"There are still so many poor people in those low income countries, and they need assistance in infrastructure, healthcare, education and so on," Kuroda said.
"But of course the major donors, the traditional donors, have difficult economic and fiscal situations," he added.
In an interview with the Philippine Star, a leading Manila daily, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said that the four-day meeting which Philippines is again hosting after 10 years, is " like a coming out party of the Aquino administration" where the government can display to the world the reforms and changes now taking place in the country.
Some 4,000 delegates from 67 countries that would include financial and economic officials will attend the ADB meeting.
According to Purisima, through the event, the administration hopes to impress dignitaries from the world's monetary and financial institutions about the progress of the Philippines. " Good governance is good economics. That's what we want to show," he said.
Earlier, Governor Amando Tetangco of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank, said the ADB meeting would give an opportunity for Southeast Asian countries to discuss means to improve their resilience given the lingering ill effects of unfavorable economic events outside the region.
Tetangco said being host to this year's convention, the Philippines deems it proper to take the lead in discussing issues that will help emerging Asian markets in responding to global shocks.
"It's an opportunity for ASEAN countries to discuss how we can further intensify regional cooperation given the challenges brought about by what is happening in Europe and the rest of the world," Tetangco said.
Under the financial integration plan of ASEAN member countries, their financial systems will be linked to facilitate more economic activities within the region and, thereby, accelerate their growth.
With better economic-growth opportunities in the region, member- countries would no longer have to rely heavily on countries outside the region, officials said.
The United States and the Eurozone are major export markets for goods produced by the Philippines and other emerging Asian countries. However, demand from these areas has been falling due to their economic problems.
BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said although the ADB meeting would not have an immediate impact on poverty reduction, it would intensify peer pressure among ASEAN nations to work harder to bridge the income gap among rich and poor nations.
"It will pose a challenge to central bankers and policy makers that there's slippage in terms of implementation of policies that would reduce poverty," Guinigundo said.
Finance Undersecretary Rosalia de Leon, the head of the Manila 2012 Country Host Secretariat, said that while the Philippines can highlight its development programs during the meeting, "we can also have the perspective of other countries, including ways on how to alleviate poverty."
During the meeting, three important ADB and ADB Institute (ADBI) projects will be presented, including ADBI's flagship project: Climate Change and Green Asia.
Also during the meeting, the ADB would unveil the mechanics of its 12 billion US dollars soft loan facility, which it hopes to raise despite a bleak global economic scenario.
ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda earlier said the expected 12 billion US dollars figure was for the next four-year cycle of the ADB development fund beginning in 2013.
The four-year cycle ending this year was worth slightly more than 11 billion US dollars, he said.
The ADB provides concessional loans to its 67 member countries to fund various projects, from schools and bridges to health clinics and roads, with the aim of improving the lives of the region's poorest.
Kuroda said major negotiations for contributions to the fund were carried out in the past six months, with Japan again emerging as the biggest donor and the ADB waiting for other countries to confirm their pledges.
The final figure will be announced during the Manila meeting.
While donors agreed that there was an urgent need to finance development work around the region, the global economic uncertainty had made it difficult for many to dip into their purses, Kuroda said.
"There are still so many poor people in those low income countries, and they need assistance in infrastructure, healthcare, education and so on," Kuroda said.
"But of course the major donors, the traditional donors, have difficult economic and fiscal situations," he added.
