3,500 delegates flock to Bali for ADB annual meeting

Senior government officials, business leaders, civil society activists and journalists from Asia and the Pacific began flocking to Bali on Friday to attend the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting.

According to the ADB, there will be around 3,500 delegates attending the ADB meetings and a series of seminars on issues such as the Asian response to the global economic crisis, climate change and regional integration.

The series of seminars will commence Saturday and the ADB annual meeting of its board of governors will hold its formal opening session on Monday and close on Wednesday.

ADB’s board of governors meets annually and comprises one representative from each member country. The 2009 event marks the second time the ADB has held its annual meeting in Indonesia after a 1976 meeting in Jakarta.

Indonesia was a founding member of the ADB in 1966 and is a key development partner, receiving $1.01 billion in public sector lending in 2008.