On behalf of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, I welcome all of you to the 32nd ADFIAP Annual Meetings to be held in Muscat, Oman on April 27-30, 2009. At the outset, allow me to thank the Oman Development Bank under its Chairman, Mr. Sh. Alfadhal bin Mohammed AL HARTHY, for graciously hosting this year’s event.

Given the conditions that are currently underpinning the global economic system, we have chosen for our theme in this year’s ADFIAP Annual Meetings: “Financing Development Amidst the Global Crisis: DFI Responses, Challenges and Opportunities”. Undoubtedly, the impact of the financial crisis is now global in scope and effect.

As in the past, this year’s ADFIAP Annual Meetings aims to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge. Such exchange could not be more opportune and relevant at this time. While the development finance institutions (DFIs) that will be represented in Muscat come from different parts of the world, and operate under different economic structures, we share commonalities in the concepts, principles and practice of development finance. Jointly, we will seek the answers to the question of how best our respective DFIs can effectively respond to the global economic crisis, meet the challenges it poses, and exploit the opportunities it may present.

In determining how we best should deal with the current economic crisis, perhaps the past can be our best guide. DFIs, in the form of development banks and other specialized institutions, have existed for more than a century. Many of our member-DFIs, for instance, were organized after the last world war to specifically address the demands for the rapid rehabilitation and development of critical sectors in the economy, particularly, industry and agriculture.

Over the years, governments’ strategies have determined that the attainment of economic growth and social development involved the purposive promotion of sectors they deemed critical. These sectors included exports, small and medium-scale enterprises, infrastructure and logistics, utilities and housing, and recently, information technology and knowledge. DFIs have been at the forefront in carrying out these strategies being the providers of long-term funds. For various reasons, the commercial banks that dominated the financial sector chose to limit their portfolios to short-term financing.

Today, we are once more in a crisis situation wherein governments have to intervene in the financial markets and stimulate the economy. DFIs will again or continue to be important policy tools of governments in implementing their economic strategies. We are comfortable in our belief that DFIs can respond effectively to the crisis. The challenge is for DFIs to attain efficiency in operations under the framework of governance. We have to be effective in our mandate and efficient in operations in order to live up to the expectations of our stakeholders. In a broader sense, the current economic crisis presents DFIs with yet another opportunity to affirm its vital role in economic development. Let us take advantage of this.

I look forward to meeting you all in Muscat.

FUIMAONO FALEFA LIMA
GENERAL MANAGER, DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SAMOA
AND CHAIRMAN, ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT
FINANCING INSTITUTIONS IN ASIA
AND THE PACIFIC (ADFIAP)