Online registration is now open for the 50th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to be held on 4-7 May 2017 at Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan.
The theme of this year’s meeting is “Building Together the Prosperity of Asia,” which complements the year-long celebration of ADB’s 50th anniversary.
The meeting will look at the current development challenges and opportunities in Asia and the Pacific, while exploring how ADB and its development partners could work together in achieving a more inclusive and sustainable growth for the region. See schedule.
A highlight among the 4 days of panels and other events is the Governors’ Seminar on 5 May. Apart from discussing and examining reform areas in trade, investment, and finance, panelists at this event will look at the lessons from 50 years of Asian development. A special session on ADB’s 50th anniversary will be held on the opening day of the Annual Meeting to consider ADB’s role and future direction as a leading development partner in the region.
Highlighting the importance of infrastructure investment for the region’s growth, a seminar will also be held to discuss how the region can meet the huge infrastructure financing gap and how public-private partnerships can effectively help in this area.
With most of the countries in Asia and the Pacific expected to reach middle-income status in the next few years, there will be discussions on overcoming challenges associated with this transition and how ADB and other multilateral development banks could more effectively and efficiently support them in their development progress.
Various seminars will be held to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and how they can be integrated into their national development plans. There will also be sessions on the importance of women’s leadership for the region’s development, the role of clean and sustainable technology, and maximizing the impact of partnerships among stakeholders for sustainable development. Running parallel to these events is a program for civil society organizations and youth.
In addition to official ADB sessions and seminars, Japan as the host country will organize a range of events where representatives of the public and private sectors and civil society will exchange ideas about aging, regional financial cooperation, and the role of youth in poverty reduction as well as inclusive growth. The host country will also hold a high-level roundtable on central banking in Asia.
Over 3,000 participants are expected to attend the meeting, including finance ministers, central bank governors and other senior government officials, private sector, representatives of civil society organizations and international organizations, youth, academia, and members of the media.
Participants invited, including the media, should register online. Other persons interested to attend the meeting need to be accredited. See accreditation page.
Accredited media will have access to all public sessions, including seminars and key business sessions. See media invitation.
The ADB Annual Meeting is an ISO-certified sustainable event, and both ADB and Japan will promote the principles of sustainability throughout the event.
