ADB boss visits India to review bank meet

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda will be visiting India this week to review the preparations for the bank's forthcoming 39th annual meeting to be held in Hyderabad.

The four-day annual meeting of the ADB's board of governors will take place from May 3 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. The event is expected to attract 2,000-3,000 government officials, representatives of civil society groups and the private sector, and journalists from around the world.

During his three-day official visit from March 9, Kuroda will visit the convention centre and meet officials both in Hyderabad and New Delhi.

In Hyderabad, he will also speak at the Administrative Staff College of India and in New Delhi, he will host a press conference and speak at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, according to an ADB communiqué.

Among the issues expected to figure prominently at this year's annual meeting are ADB's mid-term strategy, global imbalances affecting Asia, India and South Asia's role in a region that is rapidly integrating and the country's massive infrastructure needs.

The meeting includes a series of seminars covering such themes as Knowledge-based economies in the 21st Century, Transforming Asian Economies with e-Services, Asian Economic Integration, and Sustainable Energy Development. ADB's total lending assistance to India till 2005 amounted to about $15.4 billion.

According to the latest India Country Strategy and Program Update, ADB plans to scale up lending levels to India from an average of around $1.24 billion in recent years to around $2.65 billion by 2008.