Azerbaijan, Baku, May 4 / Trend , N.Ismayilova/
The aggregated growth of economy in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) region will fall to 3.4 percent this year compared to the record growth 9.5 percent in 2007, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda today told the opening session of the 42nd Annual Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
The crisis and climate change are the two major threats to poverty reduction in the region, he said.
"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.
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 proactively 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.
"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," Mr. Kuroda said."
Finance Minister Samir Sharifov will represent Azerbaijan at the annual meeting. Representatives of commercial banks also visited Bali, Indonesia.
ADB was established in 1966 and has 67 members. The headquarters of the bank is located in Manila. Azerbaijan became a member of the Asian Bank on Dec. 22, 1999. Country's share in the capital of the bank is 0.5 percent.
The leading shareholders of the ADB are Japan and the United States (31.2 percent of the total share capital), India and China (12.8 percent), Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 percent), etc.