ADB sets up office for regional cooperation.

MANILA, April 1 Kyodo

Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda announced the establishment Friday of an office that will oversee cooperation and integration of economies in the Asian region.

''This new office will play an active role as catalyst, coordinator and knowledge leader in the area of regional economic integration,'' Kuroda said.

Kuroda said he has appointed Masahiro Kawai, a University of Tokyo economics professor, as the head of the new office, which will be called the Office of Regional Economic Integration. He also said Kawai will also serve as economic adviser to Kuroda starting April 1 and will take over the new office Oct. 1.

Kawai served as chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific in the World Bank from 1998 to 2001, and as deputy vice minister of finance for international affairs of Japan from 2001 to 2003.

''Mr. Kawai brings the right blend of experience to this important new office at the ADB. He is highly respected in his diverse fields of expertise and he will be a valuable addition to the bank,'' Kuroda said.

Moreover, Kuroda said he has appointed Rajat M. Nag, the director general of the ADB's Mekong Department, to concurrently hold the position of special adviser to the president in charge of regional economic cooperation and integration.

''The creation of the office, and the appointment of a new special adviser on the issue, underscores ADB President Kuroda's commitment to making regional economic integration a priority for the ADB,'' the Manila-based bank said in a statement.

''The office will act as the ADB's focal point for regional bodies, forums and initiatives on the issue, including the ASEAN-plus-three finance ministers process, the Chiang Mai Initiative, and the Asian Bond Markets Initiative, the ASEAN  surveillance process, the APEC finance ministers process, and the Asia-Europe finance ministers process,'' the statement said.

The new office will replace the ADB's regional economic monitoring unit and will also handle publication of the Asia Economic Monitor and Asia Bond Monitor, as well as the management of the Asia Regional Information Center and AsiaBondOnline web sites, the bank said.

''The ADB promotes regional economic integration efforts by supporting and facilitating the above regional initiatives and several regional and subregional cooperation activities in Asia-Pacific such as the Greater Mekong Subregion program,'' it said.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The bank set up the regional economic monitoring unit in the wake of the 1997 financial meltdown that derailed many economies in Asia. The unit, known as REMU, was set up to help the developing member countries of the ADB to harness the full benefit of the global financial integration and international capital flows to minimize the impact future financial shocks in the region.