ADB, UN ESCAP boost partnership amidst pandemic

The two organisations will work together to address COVID-caused issues in Asia.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) are enhancing their cooperation to help the region amidst the ongoing pandemic, according to a press release.

“Our continued cooperation is now more important than ever. We must seek further synergies by combining our knowledge, networks, and finance to help developing Asia address health, social, and economic crises caused by COVID-19,” ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa said.

ESCAP played a key role in the formation of the ADB and the two organisations have a history of close partnership, he added.

“I am looking forward to deepening our cooperation to get our region’s economies and societies back on their feet in a way that protects our region’s precious environmental resources – very much including our oceans,” remarked UN ESCAP executive secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana.

In May, ADB and UN ESCAP, together with the UN Development Programme, launched a joint report on fast-tracking the sustainable development goals (SDG) in the region, concluding that the future of the region will depend on how countries respond to the pandemic and how well these responses are aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.