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ACD promises $2b fund for MDGs in Asia

In a clear indication that the 10-year-old Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) would no longer be a talking shop but a forum for action and cooperation in Asia, the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah launched a new US$2 billion initiative to help achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Asia

Veeramalla Anjaiah (The Jakarta Post)
Kuwait City
Wed, October 17, 2012

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ACD promises $2b fund for MDGs in Asia

I

n a clear indication that the 10-year-old Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) would no longer be a talking shop but a forum for action and cooperation in Asia, the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah launched a new US$2 billion initiative to help achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Asia.

“I seize the opportunity [...] to present an initiative that embodies Asian cooperation, by calling for the mobilization of financial resources to the amount of $2 billion, for a program that aims at financing development projects, in non-Arab Asian countries, as well as other projects that contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals,” Sheikh Sabah said while opening the first ACD Summit at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait City on Tuesday.

The two-day summit is being attended by Indonesian Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, several heads of state or government, ministers and representatives from regional organizations like the Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Sheikh Sabah said that the new fund would be managed by the Asian Development Bank and it would give priority to projects in Asia’s least developed countries.

Kuwait, an oil-rich country with per capita income of around $82,000, has been generous in contributing to the new initiative.

“I am pleased to announce the contribution of Kuwait to that program in the amount of $300 million,” Sheikh Sabah said. The remaining $1.7 billion will be provided by other ACD member countries.

As coordinator of the 32-member ACD, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra emphasized the need to focus on regional connectivity.

“Connectivity can help the integration of our diverse region [the Asian continent],” Yingluck said at the summit.

She also called on ACD members to focus more on food security and energy issues.

According to Yingluck, Thailand will host the next summit in 2015.

Hatta was scheduled to speak in the afternoon session. He was expected to focus on oil price stabilization, energy efficiency and usage and development of renewable energy resources.

Surprisingly, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa and United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasheed immediately left Kuwait after the opening ceremony of the ACD Summit.

Kuwait is one of the few liberal countries in the Arab world that holds elections regularly. Women in Kuwait can freely drive cars and take up important positions in the government. Scores of Kuwaiti policewomen were seen at the Maraya Palace, the venue of the summit.

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