Tashkent Prepares to Host ADB Annual Meeting

The International Forum will gather about 3,000 foreign guests

The Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank will take place in the capital of Uzbekistan this year. About 3,000 guests are expected to visit Tashkent to participate in this international forum including heads of governments, presidents of central banks, ministers of finance, as well as representatives of business, academic circles and civil society.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will hold its 43rd Annual Meeting on May 1-4, 2010 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It will be the first time a member country from Central Asia will host the event.
According to the organizers, the 2010 Annual Meeting will take stock of progress made under Strategy 2020, ADB’s long-term strategic program, adopted in 2008, which lays out its core goals through to 2020. Many other topics will be covered during meeting events, including reformation of the global financial system and post-crisis development in Asian countries. The agenda includes a number of presentations of several countries and seminars dedicated to Uzbekistan.
The ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers meeting will be held in Tashkent concurrently.
The ASEAN+3 is the abbreviation of the mechanism of cooperation between ten ASEAN member-countries and three countries in the Eastern Asia: China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Uzbekistan has received $1.1 billion in 26 loans and $35.5 million in technical assistance since joining the ADB in 1995. 67 countries are currently the ADB members; 48 of them are situated in the region itself
ADB is an international development finance institution whose mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people.
Headquartered in Manila, and established in 1966, ADB is owned and financed by its 67 members, of which 48 are from the region and 19 are from other parts of the globe.
ADB’s main partners are governments, the private sector, nongovernment organizations, development agencies, community-based organizations, and foundations.
Under Strategy 2020, a long-term strategic framework adopted in 2008, ADB will follow three complementary strategic agendas: inclusive growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
In pursuing its vision, ADB’s main instruments comprise loans, technical assistance, grants, advice, and knowledge.
Although most lending is in the public sector - and to governments - ADB also provides direct assistance to private enterprises of developing countries through equity investments, guarantees, and loans. In addition, its triple-A credit rating helps mobilize funds for development.
Article 28 of the ADB Charter vests all the powers of the institution in the Board of Governors, which in turn delegates these powers to the Board of Directors, except for those powers reserved for the Board of Governors in the Charter.
The Board of Governors meets formally once a year in ADB’s Annual Meeting.
The Forty-Third Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from Monday, 3 May to Tuesday, 4 May 2010
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov received President of the Asian Development Bank Haruhiko Kuroda at Oqsaroy residence in Tashkent on Feb.16.
Welcoming the head of ADB, President Karimov said that Uzbekistan was actively cooperating with many international financial institutions, and that ties with ADB were especially important for the country.
Being a long-time reliable partner of Uzbekistan, the ADB, jointly with Uzbek specialists, continuously develops and implements the strategy of cooperation in many sectors of the country’s economy. nw

A view of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the venue of the 43rd Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting May 1-4. President Islam Karimov meets with President Haruhiko Kuroda of the Asian Development Bank who called on him on Feb. 16 at Oqsaroy residence in Tashkent.