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| Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho speaks during an event held at the annual congress of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, the Philippines, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance |
By Anna J. Park
Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho has been elected as the chair for next year's annual Asian Development Bank (ADB) conference, which is slated to be held in May.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Friday, Choo was elected to take the chairmanship position for next year's annual ADB meeting during a two-day ADB annual congress held Sept. 28 and 29 in Manila, the Philippines.
Since ADB's establishment in 1966 to promote and support the economic and social development of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Korea has so far hosted two annual congresses: in Seoul in 1970 and on Jeju in 2004. Incheon's hosting of the annual ADB event next year will be the third time for Korea to invite dozens of ADB member countries.
"Korea plans to fully prepare for the ADB annual congress next year, aiming to provide a common place for Asian countries to take another leap forward, while countries overcome the uncertainties of the global economy and reconnect with one another," Choo said in a speech in Manila on Thursday.
The finance minister also shared his thoughts on ADB's role in cooperation for sustainable growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The sustainable growth of the member countries should be based on so-called 'soft infrastructure,' meaning problem-solving knowledge accumulated in diverse areas," Choo said. "Private sectors' proactive participation should be encouraged to raise the target capital of $100 billion necessary for climate finance by 2030."
In a congratulatory message, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said next year's annual congress in Korea will be a significant juncture for member countries' economic recovery.
"Korea's vast facets of development experience, ranging from the K-pop sector to its successful transformation from a previous recipient country until 1988 to a donor country, could be shared among member countries at next year's congress," the ADB president said.
