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ADB President announces over US$6.5 billion in assistance to India |
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Wednesday, 31 August 2005 |
Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda in concluding his first state visit to India said that ADB was ready to raise its development assistance to over US$6.5 billion over the next three years, writes Asian Development Bank (ADB), New Delhi, India, 01 Sep 2005 in Relief Web at http://www.reliefweb.int/
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 020905.
During his two-day visit, Mr. Kuroda met with President Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and other ministers and assured them of ADB's commitment to supporting the Government in its development agenda. He commended the government's efforts of pursuing policies to accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty in the country. Not only has India's rapid growth been good for the people of India, said Mr. Kuroda, but it is also serving as an engine of growth in other parts of the region.
"ADB attaches great importance to India and we will be happy to enhance the scale and scope of our development assistance," Mr. Kuroda said.
Mr. Kuroda stated that ADB's annual lending program, expected to increase from about $1.5 billion this year to over $2 billion annually in the next few years, will focus mostly on critical infrastructure needs of the country particularly in transport, energy and urban development.
The estimated requirements for infrastructure financing in India are $15 billion per annum. ADB has already provided five loans for the country's National Highway Development Program, and is now pursuing the possibility of a new series of lending to the sector. ADB has also supported the energy sector since 1986 with 15 loans amounting to over $3 billion.
The ADB President also assured support for the Government in formulating innovative methods of infrastructure financing to meet their needs, including public-private partnerships. The Government has expressed interest in ADB financing to support building up of infrastructure in support of agriculture, water resources and tourism, where scope exists for promoting public-private partnerships.
In a meeting with business leaders, Mr. Kuroda noted the importance of public-private partnerships and said that ADB is adopting innovative financing approaches aimed at breaking public and private sector boundaries. He also reiterated ADB's support to the development of the country's private sector.
"In support of growing demand from the private sector, we have recently enlarged and strengthened our private sector and financial sector group in ADB's India Resident Mission," he said. ADB's private sector operations in India have been growing over the past several years and now constitute 15% of ADB's total private sector portfolio.
Mr. Kuroda likewise emphasized the importance of regional cooperation in achieving economic growth and poverty reduction, noting the significant potential of areas such as cross-border infrastructure, energy needs, joint harnessing of natural resources and joint research in frontier technology for economic cooperation.
"There are enormous gains to be achieved through such cooperation and ADB would be happy to play a facilitative role in this regard," Mr. Kuroda said. ADB has been supporting regional cooperation initiatives in South Asia through its South Asian Sub-regional Economic Cooperation program.
At the same time, he emphasized the importance of sustainable growth, saying that issues surrounding energy, the environment and sustainable development have taken on a greater urgency than ever before.
"Never has this issue been in sharper focus than in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster late last year, which threw a global spotlight on the tenuous existence of poor fishing families and farmers," he said in a speech at The Energy and Research Institute.
To ensure closer coordination in overseeing the reconstruction and rehabilitation of vital infrastructure and to restore the incomes and livelihood of those affected by the tsunami disaster, ADB has provided $200 million to Kerala and Tamil Nadu and have established extended missions in these states to support the operations.
The ADB President also announced that ADB's 39th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors, which will be held in Hyderabad from 3-6 May 2006. "The annual meeting will be a great opportunity for India to showcase its impressive development, particularly in the information technology sector," he said.
From India, Mr. Kuroda will travel to Singapore to attend the IMF-Monetary Authority of Singapore High-Level Seminar on Asian Integration. He will also launch an ADB publication on the progress, prospects, and challenges of Asian economic cooperation and integration. On 5 September, he will arrive in Islamabad for his first state visit to Pakistan.
The Asian Development Bank is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 63 members, with 45 from the region.
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