Some information about the 44th ADB Annual Meeting in Viet Nam

From 3 to 6 May, 2011, the 44th Annual Meeting of the the Board of Governors of the  Asian Development Bank takes place in Hanoi. This is the first time Viet Nam hosts an ADB Annual Meeting since Viet Nam officially became a member of ADB.

The hosting of this conference will significantly contribute to enhancing the prestige and position of Viet Nam in the region and the world. This is also the responsibility of our country as a member of ADB, a good opportunity for Viet Nam to promote and introduce the country and people of Viet Nam to international friends.

In recent years, ADB Annual Meeting attracts from 2,500 to 3,000 delegates. As usual, participants in the Annual Meeting include countries, investors, the Board Chairman/CEO and financial corporations, large banks/companies, local authorities, news & media agencies, and nongovernmental organizations.
This Annual Meeting is imbued with the Vietnamese identities through carefully selected programs and events along with the communication and promotion of the economic, cultural, social development achievements and Viet Nam's efforts in the international integration process. As expected, the number of delegates attending the 44th ADB Annual Conference in Viet Nam is over 3,000.

The conference will include about 40 events, including the opening session, 02 plenary sessions, 14 workshops, meetings between finance ministers and group meetings between delegations of countries, the banquets, the working sessions for each ADB member country group, bilateral and multilateral meetings and other social activities, etc.

Some of the major, typical events: The Opening Session (in the morning of 5 May) with about 2,000-3,000 delegates; the Plenary session of 67 member countries; the Governor's Conference under the theme: Asia by 2050: pursuing sustainable development and prosperity; the meeting between civil society organizations and ADB senior officials; tripartite meeting among Finance Ministers, Vice Ministers of Japan, China and South Korea; the Workshop: "Middle-income Asia, Policy Challenges Ahead" with the participation of speaker Robert Mundell - Nobel laureate in economics in 1999; the meeting of Finance Ministers, Deputy Minister of ASEAN + 3; the banquet of the host country.

In addition, the Viet Nam Day Program organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment is also an important event attracting the attention of the guests, investors at home and abroad and of the press. The content of this program includes: the high level conference in Investment - Business, the workshops on several topics in the fields of infrastructure, electricity, clean water and some Exhibition Activities to promote products, investment, trade, tourism opportunities in Viet Nam as well as other cultural activities related to the history and traditions of Viet Nam, art shows, sightseeing and cuisine of Viet Nam.

The Meeting will include 19 workshops focusing on the topics as follows: the Capital and Financial Market Integration and Regulatory Harmonization in Asia in the Post Crisis Environment; Asia by 2050 (Conference of the Governors); Working Together for Asian Financial Regulation and Stability; Middle-Income Asia: Policy Challenges Ahead; Changing Global Growth Trends and Capital Flows to Asia; Bridging the Gap: Catalyzing Private Capital for Investment in Infrastructure; The Role of the Private Sector in Promoting Regional Integration; the Joint Conferences (ADB / IMF and ADB / JICA - Japan), Workshop on investors in Asia, ASEAN Integration: Speeding up Connectivity, the Workshop on Climate change risks; Country Presentations on Natural Resource Wealth Management; the socio-economic development achievements, overcoming the financial crisis and economic development (Indonesia, Bangladesh and other developing countries in the Pacific region).

The Meeting Speakers include ADB President Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, representatives of Ministries and branches in Viet Nam, the Governors of the member countries, the IMF's high-level leaders, renowned leaders, researchers, scholars from the member countries, developed countries, universities in the world such as Harvard, Columbia Academy, the Asian Development Bank Institute, Japanese Policy Research Institute and the participation of speaker Robert Mundell - Nobel laureate in economics in 1999.

As expected, three Press Conferences will be held at the National Convention Centre in My Dinh. The Press Conference of the host country (scheduled at 15h00 on 02 May 2011, chaired by the State Bank Governor, co-chaired by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister of Communication and Information Technology) is chaired by the State Bank with the coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. This Press Conference (on 3 May 2011) and the closing Press Conference (on 6 May 2011) is chaired by the President of ADB.