Second stage of ADB annual meeting begins Sept 17

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will hold the second stage of its 53rd annual meeting as a virtual event on September 17-18, reports BSS.

A series of webinars open to the media and the public featuring finance and health ministers, development and industry experts, and ADB Management will explore issues and challenges facing Asia and the Pacific as it responds to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, said an ADB press release.

The session on 'Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by Strengthening Domestic Resource Mobilisation and International Tax Cooperation' will be held on September 17.

ADB's developing members face increasing pressure to raise tax revenues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa will discuss with representatives from the developing countries and development partners how their collaborative efforts can help address challenges in domestic resource mobilization and international tax cooperation.

The 'Joint Ministers of Finance and Health Symposium on Universal Health Coverage in Asia and the Pacific: COVID-19 and Beyond' will also be held on September 17.

The ADB, in its release, said in the midst of the pandemic, countries must take urgent action to scale up effective approaches to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) so that all people can access quality health services without experiencing unnecessary financial hardship.

ADB, the Government of Japan, and the World Health Organisation will jointly host this seminar that will bring together finance and health ministers to discuss accelerating progress toward UHC in Asia and the Pacific.

Another session titled 'Regional Cooperation in the Time of COVID-19: Lessons Learned and Way Forward' will also be held on September 17.

This session will focus what lessons can be learned from the historical silk road about regional cooperation, especially during crisis times?

This session also aims to highlight the benefits of regional cooperation in reviving and fostering economic growth in a post-Covid environment. It will discuss the potential role of regional cooperation platforms, such as the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme, in building resilience to future crisis.

Besides, the CNBC Debate on 'Resetting Asia: Technology, Investment, and Sustainability' will be held on September 18. Since the Covid-19 pandemic is reshaping economies across Asia and the Pacific, the CNBC Debate asks: what role can technology play in propelling Asia's comeback while embracing the need to focus on sustainability?

The Governors' Second Business Session will also be held on the same day.

The business session of the Board of Governors to be held on September 18 follows the first session held on May 22. Governors will consider the remaining agenda items and conclude the meeting.

The Governors' Seminar on 'Developing Asia Beyond the Pandemic' will be held on September 18.