New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday asked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to ensure that primacy is accorded to the views of developing countries in its operations and resource planning.
Mr Jaitley, who is on a three-day official visit to Japan to participate in the annual meeting of board of the Governors’ of ADB met bank’s president Takehiko Nakao and discussed India-ADB bilateral engagements.
During the meeting, finance minister pointed out that since ADB provides services to developing member countries, the Bank should ensure that primacy is accorded to their views, according to finance ministry statement issued here.
In his address at the 50th annual meeting, Mr Jaitley asked the multilateral lending agency to set up a regional hub in New Delhi for the South Asia region in order to “keep pace with the growing aspirations of the people and to expedite the process of project preparation and delivery for India and other countries in the region.”
He urged the Bank to adopt country system for procurement, social and environmental safeguards expeditiously. Mr Jaitley also called for a greater focus on renewable energy keeping in view commitment to tackle climate change.
In urban development, especially in the sectors of drinking water and sanitation, Mr Jaitley underlined the major challenges faced by many developing countries in making the system work without having to depend much on the budgetary support from the national governments.
