Session 2.5: Supporting Upper Middle Income Countries with Multisectoral Approach

Session 4 showed how an issue unique to Upper Middle Income Countries (UMICs) (i.e. air quality problems), has been addressed with a clean energy deployment initiative. This session will delve into a number of other challenging issues that UMICs face, and which can be addressed by international financiers such as ADB. The list of such challenges includes global public goods such as air and water pollution; the widening gap between urban and rural areas; an ageing population; and commitments to the international community, such as climate change. As an example, ADB’s project pipeline in the People’s Republic of China includes initiatives such as rural vitalization, disaster prevention, and ecologically-friendly growth. These challenges are beyond the traditional sector-based approach, and they will require innovative and multisectoral strategies. The session will draw on the experience and lessons learned by ADB and other development partners and experts using an integrated, multi-sectoral approach, to help UMICs to design more effective development projects and investment strategies.