OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK PACIFIC LIAISON

AND COORDINATION OFFICE

1 MARGARET STREET, SYDNEY

WEDNESDAY, 3 AUGUST 2005

Thank you very much Mr Kuroda. You and I have been colleagues for a long time

including through your previous work with the Japanese Government. I understand

it is your first visit to Australia in your capacity as the President of the

Asian Development Bank (ADB), although you are no stranger to Australia and

you know us quite well. Let me welcome you very warmly in your capacity as President

of the ADB here to Australia.

Can I also acknowledge the representatives we have from Kirabati, Nauru, Vanuatu

and the Solomon Islands who are here today for the opening of this office. Welcome

to you and we hope that this office becomes a very significant part of the ADB’s

contribution to development in the Pacific.

Mr Kuroda, in the short time that you have been President of the ADB you have

indicated a strong reform agenda and we in Australia endorse that. We believe

that multilateral institutions have to work efficiently, that the resources

that are entrusted to them are for the benefit of development and the relief

of poverty. The extent to which that efficiency and accountability can be heightened

in the multilateral banks themselves serves as a good example to the rest of

us.

Australia has been a Member of the ADB since its foundation in 1966. We are

a significant shareholder in the ADB and we look to the ADB, in cooperation

with our own aid programmes, to make a significant difference in this part of

the world.

Progress in East Asia has been one of the success stories of development in

the last decade. East Asia as a whole has met the millennium development goal

of halving poverty before the target date. This of course has been lead particularly

by China, with the improvement in China’s living standards lifting overall

standards for East Asia as a whole.

But there are other parts of the Asia Pacific region which still have not enjoyed

that kind of prosperity – where poverty is still a scourge, where governance

is a problem and where countries are still fighting corruption. In particular,

in many of our friends and neighbours in the Pacific the standards of income

have not improved substantially over the last decade.

And whilst there is legitimately a great focus on Africa at the moment, we

in this part of the world don’t want to take our eyes off countries where

poverty is still a scourge. That is why Australia has always had a focus on

the Pacific, why we have always sought to engage the World Bank and ADB to maintain

and increase a focus on this part of the world and why we especially welcome

the opening of this office here in Sydney. Sydney is an international financial

centre, it is a good place to have an office for a financial institution. It

is also geographically focused on the Pacific where Australia stands ready to

help and where we ask the Asian Development Bank to continue its focus and its

good work towards the needs of countries in the Pacific who are struggling with

poverty. What are the needs that they need to meet? Governance, anti-corruption,

transparency, financial accountability, government responsiveness and efficiency,

increased trade and increased investment. To these ends I think the policy advice

role of the ADB will be just as important as the lending role in many of these

countries.

We strongly endorse your strategic objectives of providing for an environment

conducive to private sector investment and look to the Pacific Liaison and Coordination

Office to play a key role in this area.

The Asia Pacific region has much to gain from pursuing market orientated and

outward looking policies and the ADB will have a specific role in this area

as well with its obligation to focus on regional, sub-regional and national

projects and programmes which will contribute to the region as a whole.

Ultimately countries themselves of course have to take responsibility for their

own economic future, but the international community, which stands ready to

assist in those efforts, can make a useful contribution. The Australian Government

understands this and will continue to provide assistance.

This office is one example of the ADB’s commitment to provide a fine

service in the Pacific and I congratulate you on its inception. I am glad that

Australia is able to provide a place where staff will be close to Pacific Members

and where there are skills and infrastructure to support you in your work. Ultimately

the success of this office will be judged by the success of its advice and lending

programmes in the Pacific. We wish the staff all the best in these important

operations. Thank you all very much for your time.