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February 4th, 2009


ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, AGENCE FRANÇAISE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT TO DISCUSS FURTHER COOPERATION

 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) met in Paris February 3 and February 4 to discuss the deepening impact of the global financial crisis on Asia's economies and to map the best way to ensure sustainable development in the region going forward.

The two-day retreat marks the third time the two organizations have gathered and is a measure of the strong links the two have built since cooperation kicked off in 1997. The gathering also included high-level meetings with other key development partners from elsewhere in Europe, including Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom as well as from the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.

The ADB's delegation was led by Managing Director General Rajat M. Nag while Director General Jean-Michel Severino headed the AFD delegation.

The two development partners addressed the urgent need to ensure that the economic gains made by Asia over recent years are not derailed or even reversed by the global financial crisis given that 620 million people in the region still live on less than $1 per day, and the urgent need for further investment in health and other services amid estimates that the region needs to spend $3 trillion on infrastructure over the coming decade to sustain growth.

Joint activities by the ADB and AFD, the French government's central aid agency for cooperation, have expanded significantly over the past decade, resulting in 35 co-financed operations amounting to $2.059 billion for the ADB and $677 million for AFD. In March 2003, the two sides signed an agreement to enhance cooperation, discussion of which is likely to continue in Paris. France is also a key donor member of the ADB.

Paris-based AFD operates in more than 60 developing countries including Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam as well as Afghanistan, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. In Asia, AFD is dedicated to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth and to preserving Global Public Goods.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region.