The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said some 3,000 to 4,000 delegates are expected to take part in the 51st annual meeting scheduled from May 3 to 6 this year in Manila, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
ADB Secretary Woochong Um told the DOF that 3,000 have so far registered with the ADB for the Manila conference. The number was seen to swell to over 4,000 as more are expected to submit their names when the date of the meetings draws nearer.
Among the issues to be discussed during the meeting include globalization, technology and its impact on jobs and corresponding opportunities; private-sector mobilization in funding infrastructure; building climate-change resilience; expanding opportunities for women entrepreneurs; and using technology to maximize the skills of aging populations to make
development inclusive.
DOF Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin will represent Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III at the annual meetings.
In the Cebu leg of the ADB press launch, Agabin will be joined by a delegation from the Bank including Um; director general for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam; Philippines country director Kelly Bird; and Principal Country Specialist Joven Balbosa.
Um said these are exciting times for this year’s host, the Philippines, which has maintained a steady pace of economic growth. The ADB projected local output or the country’s GDP to accelerate to 6.8 percent in 2018 “driven by increased investment.”
“It’s been a period of high and sustained economic growth, the longest in 50 years. It’s also been an economic expansion that has occurred in a very sound macroeconomic environment,” Bird said at the launch of the 2018 Asian Development Outlook 2018 in which the ADB projected the Philippines to grow by 6.8 percent this year and 6.9 percent for 2019, slightly higher than its 2017 performance averaging 6.7 percent.
Um said the ADB supports the government’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth by helping improve infrastructure, regional development, public service delivery, youth employment and education, and also minimizing disaster risks and expanding financial inclusion.
Last year loans provided by the ADB to the Philippines reached a record-high $1.08 billion, with majority of the assistance going to infrastructure-related activities, especially in Mindanao.