Asia Regional Integration Center

This Forum discussed the completed papers and included topics on ADB economic outlook, new data sources and policy planning, and tourism and regional cooperation. In addition, a special capacity-building session was hosted by ADBI and USP for selected participants. The Forum brought together government officials from Fiji and other Pacific Island economies, think tanks in the Pacific, students, and academics.

The 2021 Forum provided a venue to share ideas and experiences among affiliated scholars on the policies and strategies that countries should pursue to mitigate the big slump in the tourism industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2019 Forum discussed “The Global Value Chain and Economic Development”, with country cases and papers on human capital development with subregional implications.

The 2018 Forum was held in Australia National University, Canberra in cooperation with the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, Crawford School of Public Policy. The forum discussed “Upgrading Human Capital and Skills Development for Future Asia”, with country cases and papers on human capital development with subregional implications.

The 2017 Forum had the theme “Financing for Sustainable Urbanization in Asia and the Pacific”. The event was held in partnership with the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka. The ADB-Asian Think Tank Development Forum 2017 was attended over 70 participants from 25 Asian and Pacific countries. Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka delivered the keynote address.

The 2016 Forum was held on 27-28 October 2016 in New Delhi, India. The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and the Asian Development Bank organized the forum. The ADB-Asian Think Tank Development Forum 2016 was attended by 100 participants from top think tanks in 24 Asian and Pacific countries. New participants from think tanks in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan attended for the first time. Representatives from governments also attended, i.e., Ministry of Finance of China, Ministry of Special Assignments of Sri Lanka and various ministries from India.

Exploring the theme of “Advancing Innovation and Inclusion for a Prosperous Asia,” the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted the Asian Think Tank Development Forum 2015 in partnership with the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER). Held 8-9 September 2015 at the Hotel Pullman Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the forum had 72 participants representing think tanks from 26 countries in Asia and the Pacific, along with representatives from Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Tenaga Nasional Berhad. Malaysia’s Datuk Sundaran Annamalai, deputy secretary-general (Policy), Ministry of Finance, read the keynote message of Secretary-General Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah.

“Promoting Innovation and Inclusion for a Prosperous Asia” was the theme of the ADB-Asian Think Tank Development Forum, held 20–21 November 2014 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, Republic of Korea. The forum was co-hosted by Korea Development Institute. The discussions on innovation and inclusion covered both global and regional issues and policy developments, as well as country-specific experiences and policies. A mix of plenary and parallel sessions provided ample time for discussion and knowledge-sharing among participants.

This forum carried the theme “Innovation and Inclusion for a Prosperous Asia” and saw the launch of the Asian Think Tanks Network. It gathered 130 participants, representing 47 think tanks from 26 Asian countries. The discussion covered the latest global and regional policy developments and country-specific experiences and policy issues on innovation and inclusion.