PRESIDENT OPENS ADB ANNUAL MEETING IN BALI

Nusa Dua, Bali Province, May 4 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officially opened the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) here on Monday.

The ADB annual meeting held May 4-5, is an historical event because it takes place when the world is experiencing an unexpected deep economic recession, the President said in his opening remarks.

This year, the ADB's Board of Governors meeting was crucial to demonstrate that ADB had the capacity and was flexible to meet the needs of its member countries at present and in the future, he said.

He hoped that the ADB meeting could yield resolutions which clearly showed that ADB was ready and capable of dealing with this serious challenge, he said.

The current global financial crisis also made the people aware of a new world face, he said.

"Our economic condition in the future will not be the same. The future economy will be full of challenges. We need something to face it and make innovation. And I am sure that if we cooperate we will be successful," he said.

President Yudhoyono was accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Finance Minister/Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sri Mulyani Indrawati, National Development Planning State MInister Paskah Suzetta, Minister/State Secretary Hatta Rajasa, and Cooperatives Minister Surya Dharma Ali.

Meanwhile, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda told the opening session of the 42nd Annual Meeting that with the Asia and Pacific region hit hard by the global economic crisis, the region must re-balance growth,
In a speech focusing on the global crisis, economic re-balancing and environmental sustainability, Kuroda stressed the importance of continuing to support the region's growth and poverty reduction efforts.

The region's aggregate growth is expected to fall to 3.4% this year from record growth of 9.5% in 2007.

"Under our current projections, 60 million more people will remain trapped in poverty this year and yet another 100 million next year ? an alarming setback to our vision of an Asia and Pacific free of poverty," Kuroda said, noting that the crisis and climate change are the two major threats to poverty reduction in the region.

The Annual Meeting follows a vote by its Board of Governors to triple ADB's capital base from $55 billion to $165 billion. The 200% increase will allow ADB to respond quickly and pro-actively to the immediate needs of its developing member countries while maintaining a focus on long-term development objectives.

ADB's response to the crisis features an additional $10 billion of ADB assistance in 2009-2010. The crisis assistance will include a new $3 billion Countercyclical Support Facility to disburse funds quickly and efficiently for urgent needs, and a front-loading of Asian Development Fund resources to provide $3.4 billion to ADF recipient countries this year. It also includes up to $1 billion to support trade financing, which is expected to generate up to $15 billion in trade support.

"With strong national and regional efforts, and a mild recovery expected in the global economy next year, developing Asia should bounce back to 6% growth in 2010," Kuroda said.