Palau is a small island developing state in the North Pacific. Its tourism industry accounts for about 40% of gross domestic product, while assistance under its Compact of Free Association with the United States (the Compact, amended in 2018) will provide more than $120 million in grant funding through to 2024. Despite its tourism industry and Compact assistance, Palau is exceptionally vulnerable to natural disasters, and its narrow economic base exposes it to international market volatility. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and associated travel restrictions severely threaten Palau's tourism-based economy—emphasizing the need for prudent financial management and deeper private sector involvement as the country pursues more inclusive and sustainable growth.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a lower middle income country, classified by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as both a fragile and conflict-affected situation and a small island developing state. The economy of PNG is small, open, and export-oriented. Mineral products (including oil, gas, liquid natural gas, gold, and copper) account for roughly 84% of all exports, with agriculture, forestry, and marine products contributing the other 16%. The economy is estimated to have contracted by at least 2.9% in 2020, largely due to the impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. ADB has been working with PNG since 1971 and is the country's largest multilateral development partner. ADB's recent engagement has focused on key development challenges, including weak governance and institutions, a large infrastructure deficit, and poor service delivery (especially in rural areas, where more than 80% of the population resides).
With a landmass of 2,934 square kilometers spread across two main islands (Savaii and Upolu) and several smaller ones, Samoa is dependent on fisheries and agricultural products for exports while importing most of its fuel and commodities. Approximately 70% of the population lives in rural areas and the majority of the workforce is engaged in subsistence activities. Core development constraints include geographic isolation, capacity constraints in the public and private sectors, and high exposure to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has assisted Samoa since 1966, with investments in critical infrastructure and support for policy reforms, public financial management, and increased climate resilience. Samoa has made strong progress on achieving development priorities relating to poverty, gender, health, education, and environmental sustainability.
Solomon Islands covers about 28,000 square kilometers of Melanesia in the South Pacific, with around 75% of the population living in villages of just a few hundred people. The country's economy experienced a significant contraction because of the coronavirus disease pandemic, though a fragile recovery is underway with prospects resting largely on opportunities in mining, agriculture, fishing, and tourism. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been supporting Solomon Islands since 1973. Its assistance has focused on developing infrastructure to support inclusive growth, including transport assets, renewable energy, and water supply and sanitation.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and associated restrictions in Sri Lanka impacted most major sectors of the country's economy. This comes in the wake of the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019, which also had significant effects on economic growth, especially on tourism. The path to recovery will be challenging, given uncertainties in the global economic outlook and the fiscal constraints that Sri Lanka faces. Since 1966, ADB has committed loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $11.1 billion for Sri Lanka. Cumulative loan and grant disbursements to Sri Lanka amount to $7.96 billion. These were financed by regular and concessional ordinary capital resources, the Asian Development Fund, and other special funds.
With some of the world's highest mountains covering 93% of its territory, Tajikistan faces obstacles to its development, including food insecurity, limited transport connectivity, and low levels of private investment. Due to its narrow economic base and reliance on remittances by labor migrants, Tajikistan's economy remains vulnerable to external shocks such as the global economic impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has partnered with Tajikistan since 1998. ADB's investments in the country have emphasized diversifying the economic base and improving the investment climate to create jobs with higher incomes. ADB has helped Tajikistan to improve its transport, energy, and municipal infrastructure. The bank has also supported the upgrading of labor force skills and improvements to food security.
Thailand's economic progress has centered largely around international trade and tourism. As such, the country's economy has been severely impacted by restrictions to movement brought on by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Thailand's efforts to manage the pandemic and its impacts have been highly commendable. The Government of Thailand has launched several stimulus packages in a phased manner to cushion the effects of the pandemic on the country's prosperity and its people. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) stands ready to extend the necessary support and collaboration with Thailand in responding to health, social and economic impacts due to the COVID-19. In June 2020, ADB approved a $1.5 billion loan to Thailand under the Countercyclical Support Facility COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) for the COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program.
Timor-Leste has made significant progress in state building since its independence in 2002. However, while access to essential services (particularly electricity) has vastly improved, key human development indicators remain low. The country's prospects hinge on prudent and effective use of revenues from petroleum production to finance the investments in human capital, physical infrastructure, and institutions that are needed to support economic diversification and growth. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been supporting Timor-Leste since 1999, with a focus on removing infrastructure bottlenecks and institutional constraints to open the way for a more sustainable economy. The bank's assistance concentrates on improving transport connectivity to reduce inequalities, upgrading water supply and sanitation to deliver better health outcomes, regional cooperation and integration, investing in agricultural value chains to boost rural prosperity, and expanding financial and digital services to stimulate inclusive growth.
Tuvalu is a small island developing state comprising nine atolls in the South Pacific. It is geographically isolated and highly vulnerable to climatic and economic shocks. With a small private sector and limited resources to support socioeconomic development, the public sector is its main driver of growth. Tuvalu depends on fishing license fees, trust fund investments, official development assistance, and remittances for foreign currency earnings. Disasters triggered by natural hazards, such as cyclones and king tides, increase the country's economic volatility and can substantially alter fiscal outcomes. Tuvalu has been a member of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since 1993. ADB's assistance has concentrated on improving macroeconomic growth and stability, advancing renewable energy, upgrading transport assets, expanding health coverage, and building disaster resilience.
Uzbekistan joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1995. Today, emboldened by a new development strategy and a comprehensive reform agenda, the country is striving for a vibrant economy led by the private sector. In 2019, ADB approved a new country partnership strategy for Uzbekistan covering 2019–2023. This partnership strategy is aligned with the country's national development strategy and supports the Government of Uzbekistan's ongoing reforms to transition toward a more inclusive and market-driven economy. The government's objectives can only be achieved by developing a robust private sector and reducing the state's pervasive footprint. ADB will assist this transition by providing policy advice, investments, and capacity-building projects that support private sector development, reduce economic and social disparities, and promote regional cooperation and integration.
Vanuatu is an archipelago with a population of about 297,000 people spread across 84 islands in the West Pacific. It is ranked the most vulnerable country in the world to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Economic growth has traditionally been driven by tourism, public spending on infrastructure, private sector construction activities, and aid flows. The largely rural population is engaged in subsistence farming and limited production of copra, beef, cocoa, and kava for export.
The global economic downturn and weakening external demand caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic slowed Viet Nam's recent growth momentum in 2020. However, the country's economic fundamentals remain resilient and the economy expanded at 2.9% in 2020. Viet Nam's medium- and long-term economic prospects are also positive due to continued improvements in its business environment, expanded market access from free trade agreements, a growing middle class, and the ongoing shift of global and regional value chains to lower-cost countries. Viet Nam was one of the founding members of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1966. ADB has since supported the country's poverty reduction achievements, infrastructure developments, and has more recently been helping guide measures to address income inequality and socioeconomic disparities, particularly for ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hindered progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development leaving the world in despair. As a result, the world felt the need to continue working together, reconceptualising the goals, and finding actual targets in 2021. This study focuses on concept and challenges of cultural diplomacy as a mean of sustainable development. It further discusses cultural diplomacy in connection with the SDG-17 ('partnerships for the goals'). The study also suggests how to actualize its targets. SDG-17 has 19 targets (Appendix 1). This study suggests addition of 20th target with title: "encourage effective cultural diplomacy", keeping in view the current situation of the pandemic. Pakistan is a country with rich history, diverse music and languages, different cuisines, and ancient sites like Mohenjo-daro2, and Makli Necropolis3. On the contrary, the country is known in the world for extremism, religious intolerance, border tensions especially with India on Kashmir issue, etc. A major reason for the negative image of Pakistan is global media's propaganda. In such a scenario, Pakistan needs to have a comprehensive plan and policy to promote its soft image more efficiently. The country's foreign policy needs to embed with clear-cut expressions of cultural diplomacy. In 2021, Pakistan ranked 10th most powerful country in terms of military strength (Global Firepower Index 2021); whereas it is now placed at 53rd position on the Soft Power Index (Salam 2020). Taking advantage of its rich culture, it can benefit from cultural diplomacy. Not only Pakistan can build a fair image of itself, but it can also attract more international partnerships to achieve the SDGs.
The Kyrgyz Republic joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1994. In recent years, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has maintained a strong development agenda to reduce poverty through inclusive economic growth. With the support of ADB, the government has sought to strengthen the health sector, reinforce social protection, reform legal and regulatory frameworks, improve the country's business environment, make affordable finance available to all, improve the reliability of electricity services, and help Kyrgyz citizens become more employable.
This open access book presents contemporary perspectives on the role of a learning society from the lens of leading practitioners, experts from universities, governments, and industry leaders. The think pieces argue for a learning society as a major driver of change with far-reaching influence on learning to serve the needs of economies and societies. The book is a testimonial to the importance of 'learning communities.' It highlights the pivotal role that can be played by non-traditional actors such as city and urban planners, citizens, transport professionals, and technology companies. This collection seeks to contribute to the discourse on strengthening the fabric of a learning society crucial for future economic and social development, particularly in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
