Kathmandu, April 13:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched Strategy 2020, a new long-term strategy for its vision of an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty.

To fight poverty in a region of more than 600 million poor people surviving on $1-a-day, Strategy 2020 will refocus ADB operations on three development agendas — inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration, states a press release.

“Strategy 2020 reshapes, redirects and repositions ADB for a more innovative and effective development role in our rapidly changing region and within the international aid architecture,” president Haruhiko Kuroda said.

Strategy 2020 sets ADB’s new strategic course, emphasising that poverty reduction can only

be sustained if more people are economically productive, economic growth takes place in a well-managed natural environment and neighbouring economies work within larger and freer markets to achieve shared interests through cooperation.

By 2012, 80 per cent of ADB’s lending will be in five core operational areas identified as ADB’s comparative strengths — infrastructure, environment, regional cooperation and integration, finance sector development, and education. By 2020, about 50 per cent of operations will be in private sector development and private sector operations and 30 per cent in regional cooperation and integration. ADB will continue to operate on a more selective basis in health, agriculture and disaster and emergency assistance.

Strategy 2020 identifies drivers of change that will be stressed in its operations — developing the private sector, encouraging good governance, supporting gender equity and helping developing countries gain knowledge.

“It emphasises ADB’s commitment to partner with other development institutions, the private sector and community-based organisations,” states the release.

Asian Development Bank (ADB’s) stakeholders provided extensive input into Strategy 2020, which will serve as ADB’s main strategic document from 2008 to 2020, replacing the long-term strategic framework for 2001-2015 released in 2000.