Friday, October 7, 2011

ADB calls for increased regional knowledge sharing

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda said today that more intensive knowledge sharing among its member countries and development partners is essential for greater development effectiveness in Asia and the Pacific.

“Knowledge solutions are becoming more and more important in Asia,” Kuroda said at the Republic of Korea-ADB Conference on Knowledge Sharing and Development Effectiveness held at ADB headquarters in Manila.”We recognize that knowledge sharing is an indispensable complement to financial and technical assistance.”

The conference, co-hosted by ADB and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of the Republic of Korea, was organised to raise awareness of the importance of knowledge sharing as a key driver of development, and as a tool to enhance aid coordination. It highlights the experiences and lessons learned by governments, ADB, and other development institutions in promoting knowledge sharing in the region.

"Under ADB’s knowledge sharing program, we intend to more closely link our knowledge sharing objectives with operations, deliver more cost-effective learning programs, expand outreach activities through information and communication technologies, and provide high quality learning opportunities,” Kuroda said.

The program is expected to help countries address their development challenges faster and more effectively by learning from the successes and mistakes of others.

As a concrete example of knowledge sharing, the conference highlighted a comparative infrastructure development assessment of Korea and Thailand. Korea’s experiences helped Thailand reflect on its successes and identify gaps in its infrastructure development. The study was financed by the e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund, a single donor trust fund established by ADB in 2006 with support from Korea.

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