Ahead of Sri Lanka hosting the Asian Development Bank (ADB) AGM, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected Chair of the ADB Board of Governors yesterday, his office said.
Rajapaksa, who is also Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister, already serves as a Governor of the ADB. He was elected Chair during the 54th Annual Meeting that was held virtually on Wednesday. It was to have been held in Tbilisi, Georgia.
In a speech Rajapaksa said emerging Asia has a responsibility to lead the world. He called on ADB members to ensure sustainable practices that will fight climate change and encourage policy solutions that are environmentally and socially sustainable.
“We must preserve our way of life for future generations. The need now is to collectively cooperate in addressing our common issues. Towards this goal, we must be ready to adopt practices and technologies that help us make use of natural resources more efficiently,” he said.
“In that regard, Sri Lanka has already identified the importance of digitalisation to facilitate the delivery of services within a ‘green economy’. Our Government has also accelerated the drive to digitise public sector services as well.”
He also backed the ADB leading the way in supporting member countries to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and urged the organisation to extend support to emerging Asia to have smarter, eco-sustainable cities.
“Another important area of focus is women’s empowerment. We must recognise the crucial role that women play in creating a just and equitable society. While the Asian region has made significant strides in this regard, this is still an area that requires more work as well as the allocation of more resources.”
(FT)