ADB meet in May seen as showcase event for Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s hosting of the 51st Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in May will be a showcase event for the Philippines with expected spillover effects on tourism and investments, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said yesterday. 

Some 3,000 delegates are expected to take part in the annual meeting of the regional development bank from May 3 to 6. 

Attendees would include finance ministers and central bank governors of member countries, representatives from other multilateral development institutions, civil society groups, academe and bankers from prominent finance institutions, among others. 

“Hosting the ADB annual meeting at this time is fortuitous for the country. It provides us the stage to highlight the strong growth demonstrated by the Philippine economy and the programs to stimulate that growth. With solid fiscal management and reforms for the ease of doing business, we are proud to showcase our achievement,” Dominguez said in a briefing yesterday. 

Last year’s meeting was held in Yokohama, Japan while the last time the ADB annual meeting was held in the Philippines, where its headquarters is situated, was in 2012. 

Dominguez said the event could also serve as an informal business mission for some of the delegates who are keen on assessing the changing business environment in the country. 

“As you know, all businesses start with tourism. They may come here and decide to invest or live here. This is a new opportunity for us to show what is going on in the Philippines and why people should invest or move here. We have a very good policy environment, we have a stable system of government, we have a workforce that is young and very well educated. So these are the things that we want to display,” he said. 

ADB board secretary Woochong Um said this year’s hosting by the bank’s host country cements its strong partnership with the country. 

“As our home for the past 50 years, the Philippines has always been our special partner. Since ADB was established in 1996, we have been deeply involved in the economic and social development in the country. Over the decades, we have built strong and enduring ties here,” said Um. “This is a very important timing for the Philippines because it has so much to show right now.” 

The Philippine hosting comes at a time when the country is being developed as a meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market and when it has been granted an investment grade rating. 

This year’s ADB meeting bears the theme “Linking People and Economies for Inclusive Development,” hence discussions would center on means of attaining inclusive growth in the Asia Pacific region that is fast becoming an engine of global growth.

The quest for inclusive growth in the region, however, is threatened by rising hostility to free trade in developed countries in the west and the huge infrastructure gap in the region among others. 

“Over the past five decades, ADB poured over $250 billion into the Asia Pacific region. The programs of the bank no doubt transformed this region into one of the most progressive and dynamic regions of the world. Notwithstanding, the Asia Pacific Region, is still home to the poorest. There is challenge for inclusiveness here. In the course of the deliberations, we hope to craft modes of development interventions. We are doing this in the midst of large global trends. The Asia Pacific is now the center of gravity of the global economy and its most important growth driver,” said Dominguez.