ADB and the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) organized this virtual event to launch a new partnership between the two organizations. Under this partnership, CDRI has been designated as a ‘Depository Library’ for ADB publications. This e-library will facilitate easier access to ADB research and publications for all stakeholders within Cambodia.

In addition, the event served as a local launch for one of ADB’s flagship publications - Asia’s Journey to Prosperity. This book explores how the economies of Asia and the Pacific have been transformed in the 50 years since ADB was established. Key aspects of the transformation range from the role of markets and institutions to macro-economic policy, agricultural modernization, the role of infrastructure development, environmental sustainability, and regional cooperation.

The publication was produced by a team of ADB staff working under the overall leadership of Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada, Chief Economist and Director General of ADB’s Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department. There are 15 chapters that cover the experiences of ADB’s 46 developing member economies in the Asia and Pacific region (including Cambodia) as well as those of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand. Each chapter includes a section looking ahead to the future.

Mr. Sawada presented some of the key findings from the book at the launch event. His presentation was followed by a panel discussion.

SPEAKERS

H.E. Vanndy Hem, Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodia

H.E. Vanndy Hem is secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and looks after development financing, coordination and management of ODA (both strategy and operation), public debt management and supports key policy agenda. This role coordinates a number of inter-ministerial mechanisms that tackle major infrastructure and urbanization challenges facing Cambodia. He is also a member of the Supreme National Economic Council, and the incumbent Chair of the Country Coordinating Committee for the Global Fund program to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Cambodia. H.E. Vanndy Hem obtained his Mid-Career Master of Public Administration (Mason Fellow) from Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2014 and Master of Arts in International Development from the International University of Japan in 2002. He received his undergraduate diploma of Bachelor of Business Administration from the then National Institute of Management (Cambodia) in 1999.

Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada, Chief Economist, and Director General of Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD), ADB

Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada is the chief spokesperson for ADB on economic and development trends and leads the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department (ERCD), which publishes ADB's flagship knowledge products. Mr. Sawada is a Japanese national. He holds a Doctorate degree in Economics and a Master's in International Development Policy from Stanford University, USA; a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Tokyo, Japan; a Master's degree in Economics from Osaka University, Japan; and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Keio University, Japan. Mr. Sawada is a Professor in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Vathana Roth, Director of Centre for Development Economics and Trade, CDRI

Mr. Vathana Roth is a research fellow and director of the Centre for Development Economics and Trade at the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI). His main research interests include the nexus of economic growth, poverty and inequality, rural economic revitalization and financial inclusion, private sector development, and impact evaluation using micro-econometric modeling. He also has extensive experience particularly in managing and analyzing complex and large-scale cross-sectional and panel survey data. He holds a Master of Economics from Kobe University, Japan.