Fiji Sun

Shifts in the global economy and new technologies are among the topics to be discussed by experts in history, international economics and digital finance at the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Devel­opment Bank (ADB).

The meeting begins tomorrow in the Philippines capital, Manila, with an estimated 3000 participants ex­pected.

Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is leading a high level Fijian delegation in Manila. It also includes Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Ariff Ali. Fiji hosts next year’s meeting from May 2 to 5, 2019 in Nadi,

Historian Peter Frankopan, econo­mist Paola Subacchi and financial technology leader Eric Jing have been invited to be the key speakers at a Manila forum set on May 4 with the theme “Past, Present and Future of the World Economy.”

The forum will also include other international experts in banking and finance as panelists.

Frankopan, a professor of global history at Oxford University, is the author of the best-selling book Silk Roads: A New History of the World, while Subacchi, the former director of international economics research at Chatham House, is an acknowl­edged expert on international finan­cial and monetary systems.

Jing is the chief executive officer of the Ant Financial Services Group, a related company of Jack Ma’s Ali­baba Group. Under Jing’s leadership, Ant Financial and its partners have grown to serve 800 million users worldwide. The forum is among the events organised by the Philippines as this year’s host.

According to the forum organisers, the event “will bring together distin­guished speakers of different disci­plines to delve into the past using an unconventional lens to frame one of the biggest global economic shifts.”

Filipino Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III will deliver the open­ing remarks at this host country event followed by a message from ADB president Takehiko Nakao. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. will wrap up the forum with his closing remarks.

Frankopan will kick off the in-depth discussions at the forum by exploring the dynamics that shaped the ancient world economic order dominated by the old silk road trade routes and how it relates to Asia’s re-emergence as a global economic pow­erhouse.

The second session on “Saving the International Economic Order” to be led by Subacchi will discuss the tectonic shifts in the global economy and the repercussions of the contin­ued misalignment of representation in the international governance in­stitutions.

The last topic for discussion focus­ing on “Financial Technology for Inclusion” will be led by Jing, who will educate forum participants on the use of digital innovations and new technologies as tools to attain inclusive growth and how its accom­panying risks and downsides can be addressed.

The delegates to the meeting in­clude finance ministers and central bank governors of ADB member countries, bankers, representatives from the private sector, civil society, academe, multilateral institutions and the media.

Sources: Manila Bulletin and Fiji Sun

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