TNAG-2473-FCO40-3600-Asian-Development-Bank-liabilities-of-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 44

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Drafted by- Typed by- Dace-

23.

DRAFT

CONFIDENTIAL

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13

It

has

become

something

of

cliche to say that the next century will

be

the Asian or the Pacific century. 1 do

not doubt that this will be true. But we

must hot allow this longer term prospect

to produce a talse sense of ease. The

poor of Asia are understandably impatient

for progress now. They look to their

governments and to institutions like the

ADB to help provide it.

24.

It is this

The ADB combines its technical

competence with vision a vision of what

Asia can achieve. Both are essential for

the success of your work.

vision which has helped to broaden our

understanding of the many dimensions of

development.

development goes beyond simply striving

for economic growth at the cxpense of

people's traditional way of life or their

environment.

We now understand that

25.

I hope that in the coming few

days you will lay the foundations of the

ADB's

century.

mission over the next quarter of a

This is a mission which you

CONFIDENTIAL