Logo for big ADB Nadi Meet
launched in Manila
Fiji and the Pacific is ready to host the 52nd Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Meeting in Nadi, Fiji from May 2 to 5, 2019 with the theme ‘Prosperity through Unity’.
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney-General and Minister for Economy and Governor for Fiji in ADB said the ADB meeting next year is not just about the Fijians hosting the meeting, but it’s about the rest of the Pacific Islands too. Yesterday, during the Future Host Country Event at the ADB headquarters in Manila, Philippines, the A-G highlighted it was also an opportunity for a number of Governors from the other Pacific Island countries to tell their stories and stories of the Pacific.
He said it’s also important for us as the ADB family to be able to know what those stories were.
He looked forward to their participation. ADB vice-president for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Stephen Goff said: “We are really looking forward to Fiji hosting our annual general meeting 2019.
“This will be the first time a Pacific Island country will be hosting the ADB’s annual meeting or for that matter any international financial institution so we are really looking forward to that next year. “I have been to Fiji many times and I am very well aware of how hospitable the country is and how great the people of Fiji are and we are looking forward to that as well.” The annual meeting will be attended by Finance Ministers, Central Bank Governors, private sector representatives, development partners, academics, members of civil society, media, and the youth from the Asia and Pacific region. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said there were a number of issues that they would like to discuss at the 52nd ADB meeting in Fiji.
He highlighted that the meeting was “about developing our people, caring for our people, developing micro-enterprises and how we can nourish these men and women into thriving businesses and sustain livelihoods for all of them.”
He also noted that it is also about integration and collaboration with the bigger partners, those in the ADB family and of course beyond that too and how they can, through that unity, be able to achieve prosperity for all of us.
He has already heard a number of people saying they would attend the meeting with their spouses, who were also looking forward to it. He stressed how wonderful it was that ADB had allowed a small developing island state to host the meeting.
Fiji, he said, have hosted meetings and gatherings like the PreCOP meeting last year before Bonn, where there were about 600 to 700 people in attendance and other conferences with about 800 to 1000 people.
He noted that it would be the first time that Fiji hosts more than 3000 people.
He also said that senior officials from the Fiji Police Force, who have been working together with various Filipino agencies and various arms of ADB “to see how best to host you and provide you with the level of comfort and security”. He thanked the host country Philippines for the warm hospitality during the 51st ADB annual meeting and the various discussions that have been very useful to the participants.
He stressed that it was an opportunity to come to Fiji, to hear from the Pacific Islanders.
He also noted the it was also about how they can all work together to be able to best integrate their resources, their minds and see the best possible solutions they could provide ordinary people.
Panel discussion:
As Asia and the Pacific seeks inclusive and sustainable economic growth, countries are adapting to the possibility that new technologies in fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence may lead to challenges for some industries and groups of workers, according to participants at a high-level Asian Development Bank (ADB) seminar. “Advances in new technologies will raise incomes and increase demand from Asia’s rising consumer class,” ADB President Take- hiko Nakao said at the Governors’ Seminar during ADB’s 51st Annual Meeting in Manila, Philippines.
“Countries that maintain flexible policies, support improvements to education, and put in place a stronger social safety net will be well positioned to take advantage of change that new technologies will bring to the region.”
The seminar “Technological Change, Globalisation, and Jobs in Asia” had as panellists Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, Indonesia Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Japan Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, and Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Public Enterprises, Civil Service, and Communications Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
They shared experiences and issues from their countries’ perspectives.
According to the theme chapter of ADB’s Asian Development Outlook 2018, despite concerns that new technologies and automation could lead to widespread job losses, there are four reasons for optimism about developing Asia’s job prospects.
First, despite the growing use of industrial robots in the region, new technologies often automate some tasks of a job, not the whole job. Second, automation takes place only where it is both technically and economically feasible, and it has so far been concentrated in the region’s capital-intensive manufacturing with relatively low employment levels.
Third, empirical evidence from developing Asia shows that jobs created by rising domestic demand more than compensate for job losses due to technological advances. This job creation will likely continue as a growing middle class consumes more and better goods and services. Fourth, technological advances and rising incomes will lead to new occupations and industries, further offsetting labour displacement due to automation.