Manila, Sept 21, 2006 - Asian Development Bank's (ASX:
ATB) planned projects for Mongolia over the next three years have been
adjusted to take into account recent developments in the country.
The
Country Strategy and Program for 2006-2009, released last year, aims to
help the country maintain stable broad-based growth and reduce
disparities in development between urban and rural areas, while
improving access to jobs, incomes, and higher quality public services.
According
to a new update of the strategy, these overall directions continue to
be relevant. But changes are needed to support the strategic approach
being adopted by the Government to achieve the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), increase the effectiveness of development activities,
boost governance, improve alignment with ADB"s priorities, and
coordinate better with potentially larger inflows of funds from other
donors.
"The overall directions have been maintained, but
project designs have been reoriented to give attention to these five
major considerations," says Adrian Ruthenberg, Country Director at
ADB's Mongolia Resident Mission. "The Government"s strategic approach
to achieving the MDGs make it crucial for ADB to orient its operations
toward agreed upon priorities in specific sectors."
Proposed
assistance from ADB's concessional Asian Development Fund under the
updated strategy amounts to $48.3 million over the next two years, with
assistance for 2009 still tentative.
ADB will pay careful
attention to the increased demand from civil society for transparency
and good governance. To align them better with ADB's priorities,
projects will focus on catalyzing investments and managing the
environment.
With regard to development effectiveness, projects
will utilize Managing for Development Results, a management approach
employed by ADB to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation,
feedback, and learning.
Projects will also explore ways of
harmonizing ADB lending with the priorities of other sources of funds.
This is particularly necessary in Mongolia as more alternate sources of
funds are now available than when the strategy was prepared last year.
As
a result of these changes, support for the Government's agriculture
strategy has been intensified with the Agriculture and Rural
Development Project in 2007. In support of ADB's priority on catalyzing
investments, the project has been reoriented to focus on the role of
private investment and rural infrastructure.
Regional
cooperation and integration also receives renewed attention in the
updated strategy, and, to increase investments that are particularly
beneficial to the poor, ADB will maximize efforts to mobilize resources
from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, from the Government of
Japan, to complement the program.
About ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and
Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social
development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by
64 members - 46 from the region.
In 2005, it approved loans and grants for projects totaling $6.95 billion, and technical assistance amounting to $198.8 million.
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