Far West Asia Rationale (II)
[February 15, 2004] - We (IPPF) are becoming ever more focused on Asia’s Far West. I’m referring to the areas conventionally referred to as the “Middle East”. A key milestone in this geographic mandate and policy is IPPF’s commitment to be very much involved with the upcoming ADB Annual Meeting in Istanbul, Mid-May, 2005. This event will be a catalyst for emerging partnerships and a possible ;major shift of emphasis towards the West and South Asia Private Sector investment action. The Public Sector is already there through ADB, IFC, World Bank, etc. It’s the dynamics of private sector forces either acting alone or intertwined with public / institutional / multilateral NGOs that will be the frosting for the cake in the effort to pull the masses of Central, South and West Asia out of poverty.
In some cases, it will be the “cake” itself. At the IPPF 2003 Summer Retreat / Conference in Singapore, several prominent members of the power generation community tabled an initiative to do an event in Dubai. Yes, there are already many such gatherings occurring in the Bahrein / Dubai marketplace. However, these meetings / conferences / business gatherings are driven from the “West to the East”. The IPPF, based in Hong Kong, China, as a purely Asian entity will pushing the envelope from “East to West”.
Our constituency includes leading energy players active in Japan, the PRC, ASEAN, etc. Also, it is our intention to redirect some of the focus of the Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai (and ultimately Tokyo) power / energy / infrastructure / investment / logistical entities toward the Asian Far West.
Tel: (852) 2894 8105, Fax: (852) 2577 5817, E-mail:group@laykinhk.com