Arun Jaitley Asks ADB to Set Up Regional Hub in New Delhi

India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to set up a regional hub in New Delhi for the South Asia region.

Jaitley believes that it is required 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 also urged the Bank to adopt country system for procurement, social and environmental safeguards expeditiously. He was addressing on Sunday the Board of Governors of the ADB at its 50th Annual Meeting at Yokohama, Japan.

The Finance Minister was accompanied by Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, who is also the Alternate Governor of India to ADB.

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Jaitley congratulated the ADB on completing its 50 years and serving the people of Asia-Pacific region. While lauding the efforts of the Bank in eliminating poverty in the region through development of physical and social infrastructure, Jaitley called for a greater focus on renewable energy keeping in view the commitment to tackle climate change.

In urban development, especially in the sectors of drinking water and sanitation, 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.

He urged the Bank to promote sustainable models that will address these challenges. He called upon ADB to focus on climate resilient agriculture, better farm production technologies, improved value chain management and creation of better marketing infrastructure for farm produce.

Jaitley is on a three-day official visit to Japan to participate in the Annual Meeting of Board of Governors’ of ADB among others.