Top officials from around Asia will gather in the Philippines to discuss the lessons of the global economic and financial crisis, and the policy adjustments needed to cushion the region against future shocks, according to a news release from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Jan. 7.
Over 80 participants, including finance ministers, heads of central banks, leaders from think tanks and the private sector, and development experts, from nearly 20 Asian countries will take part in a regional forum on the Impact of the Global Economic and Financial Crisis at the ADB headquarters in Manila on Jan. 14-15.
The forum will examine the broad causes of the crisis and its impacts in Asia, as well as the lessons learned, with senior officials from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central and West Asia , detailing the broad array of government policy actions taken in response.
Participants will also examine the social impacts of the crisis - which left tens of millions of Asians mired in extreme poverty they might otherwise have escaped - and what policy actions should be taken to protect poor and vulnerable communities.
Measures to boost regional cooperation and integration are also expected to be discussed as Asia looks at collective measures to cushion itself against future risks.
The forum will conclude by examining priority actions that individual countries need to take as their economies emerge from the aftermath of the global slowdown./.