The Asian Development Bank (ADB) officially opened its 39th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors here Friday to overview its performance in the past year and discuss new strategies for Asia-Pacific development, focusing on poverty reduction.

Indian Prime Minister Manmoham Singh called for regional cooperation for further development and urged ADB to continue its important role in supporting the region's economic growth, especially in the poor areas.

"In a globalized world, growth and progress cannot occur in isolation. Countries and international agencies must collaborate to produce welfare-enhancing synergies," said Singh in his opening address at the two-day Board of Governors' meeting.

The Indian prime minister further noted that "the challenge before Asia today is to create and maintain a regional and international environment that is conducive to maintenance of high economic growth."

The ADB is a multilateral development finance institution in the Asia-Pacific region. It now groups 65 members, 47 from the region. Its Board of Governors, comprising one representative from each member, meets annually in a member country.

P. Chidambaram, chairman of the Board of Governors and ADB governor for India, said that the ADB has made progress in its role in supporting the region's development and assisted the relief after major natural disasters such as the Indian Ocean tsunami and South Asia earthquake.

"ADB continued to work with its member developing countries to build a firm foundation for growth and poverty reduction through many new initiatives being supported across the region," Chidambaram said.

The current ADB annual meeting of Board of Governors was joined by seminars and forums on the region's development challenges. Programs of the annual meeting started on Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua