Vietnam ADB meeting to focus on Asian emerging challenges

Apr 14, 2011 (LBO) - Asian Development Bank's annual meeting in Vietnam will focus on rising commodity prices which is hurting Asia's two billion poor, climate change, an ageing population as the region also grapples with natural disasters.



ADB's 44th annual meeting starts will be held from May 03 to 06 in Hanoi alongside a gathering of finance ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations, China, Japan and Korea.

A panel of top policy makers, including the finance ministers of Bangladesh, France, India, and Japan, plus the Viet Nam central bank governor and the Parliamentary State Secretary of Germany are expected to participate, the ADB said.

Asia and the Pacific now account for around a quarter of global economic output and it could icrease to around 50 percent by 2050.

By then the region will have half the world's population.

Initial findings of a study which looks at what the region must do to have sustainable growth over the next four decades will be discussed at a seminar on May 04.

Another seminar will discuss the reform of the international monetary system against the backdrop of slow growth in G7 economies, high government debt in Europe and a stronger Asia.

Christine Lagarde, Finance Minister of