Interview: Multilateralism key to challenges facing world, says ADB VP

Photo taken on April 17, 2021 shows the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao Town, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

"If we look at every single, significant problem that we must address, if we get international cooperation right, the rest will follow," said the vice president of the ADB.

MANILA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Multilateralism is the key to confronting major challenges around the world, said vice president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Ahmed Saeed, lauding the role the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) has played in fostering regional cooperation and integration.

Saeed told Xinhua that he believes international cooperation is vital for overcoming major international challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring equitable and inclusive growth, and climate change.

"If we look at every single, significant problem that we must address, if we get international cooperation right, the rest will follow," Saeed said, adding that multilateralism is both a principle proven to be extremely robust and productive in the past and "is very, very important as we move forward."

A resident shows a box of CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine, made by Sinovac Biotech, after being inoculated at a vaccination site in Manila, the Philippines on April 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

He cited the global COVID-19 vaccination rollout as a challenge, the success of which depends on international cooperation.

"I have great confidence that we can deliver vaccines to everyone and everywhere. But if we fail in that exercise, then this disease will get prolonged. Its impact will get prolonged. The tradeoff between lives and livelihood will persist, and that will be a great tragedy," Saeed said.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of BFA, which was formally inaugurated in February 2001. China serves as the permanent site for the forum's headquarters and has been holding its annual conference in Boao, a coastal town in China's southernmost province of Hainan.

Over 4,000 people will attend this year's BFA, which kicked off on Sunday and ends Wednesday. As a non-governmental and non-profit international organization, BFA is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals.

"I think it's certainly true that this venue has played a very important role in fostering the types of exchanges that can be extremely viable, (e.g.) exchanges of ideas, (and) exchanges of relationships," said Saeed, who will represent ADB in this year's BFA forum.

Photo taken on April 16, 2021 shows the scenery of Boao Town, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

"Coordination and cooperation between people, between companies, and between countries, this is the centerpiece of an effective response to the challenges that we confront," Saeed said.

Through the BFA, Saeed noted that Asian countries have a better understanding of China and vice versa.

Saeed said the BFA could play a significant role in helping the region recover from the global pandemic. "It is a place for the interchange of ideas, the fostering of relationships, and the bridging of gaps of understanding. I think these are the three things that the BFA can do very well."

China joined the ADB in 1986 and has developed "a full, robust and multifaceted relationship" with the bank, Saeed said.

"China's economic growth for the last 40 years has been truly remarkable. Living standards have improved in a manner that no one would ever imagined four decades ago," Saeed said, adding that one of the key reasons for China's transformation is its ability to ensure that economic reforms reach everyone.

The bank recently approved its country partnership strategy for the next five years, which focuses on three key priorities -- environmentally sustainable development, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as aging societies and health security.

"ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty," Saeed said, adding that ADB's engagement in China has focused on all four of these.

"One element of our new country partnership strategy with China would include sharing from experience here with other countries," he said. "As we move forward, we expect this relationship to continue to deepen and become more multifaceted."