2015 ADB Annual Meeting: Notes on the 48th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank, Baku, Azerbaijan (May 2015)

 

Asia is heading back to basics as lower commodity prices, weak overseas demand, and rising inequality prompt changes to the region’s economic development model. At the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Baku, trending topics such as regional integration and the promotion of regional bond markets were pushed down the agenda. Instead, finance ministers said Asian governments will focus on manufacturing, creating jobs, developing the domestic market, and invest in the supporting infrastructure. The location of the annual meeting in Azerbaijan, following last year’s event in Kazakhstan, indicates that the ADB supports the revival of Central Asia and endorses China’s efforts to revive the Silk Road. Next year the ADB will hold the meeting in Germany. Even as the region is busy becoming the world’s most dynamic economic area, Asia reaches out to Europe. Let the Europeans respond.