by

Mr. Kim Vada, acting on behalf of
H.E. Mr. Pal Buy Bunnang
Chairman of APRACA

APRACA’s 62nd Executive Committee Meeting and CEOs Forum
Bangkok, Thailand
26 February 2013

Mr. Luck Wajananawat, President of Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) of Thailand,

Distinguished CEOs, honorable delegates, guests and my fellow Committee Members.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

First of all, it is regretful for me to seek your understanding for H.E Pal Buy Bonnang’s inability to attend this forum due to the exigencies. He has requested me to convey regrets for his absence here.

Therefore, on behalf of the Executive Committee, I would like to thank the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) for graciously consenting to be our host for APRACA’s 62nd Executive Committee Meeting and the CEOs Forum today.

I would also like to sincerely thank APRACA Secretariat and its supporting staffs for organizing the meeting and the forum in such an efficient manner.  Importantly, I would like to welcome you all of thank for your participation in both the EXCOM Meeting and the CEOs Forum.

ARACA has been involved in the promotion of agricultural development and facilitation of exchange of information and expertise in rural and agricultural finance in Asia and the Pacific ever since it was established by member institutions in October 1977, thanks to the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.  Such involvement has gained sharper focus with numerous training activities and diverse meetings organized for its member institutions, continued financial support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), as well as the recent establishment of the APRACA website.

I’m also pleased to inform you that the Sub-Committee for the Completion of the Strategic Plan of APRACA approved the draft Strategic Plan of APRACA for 2013-2018 at their meeting in Seoul in September 2012.  Their final draft will be presented to you today for your deliberation.  The strategic plan to be adopted by us today will set the direction of the Association for the next five years.

As many of you may be already aware, we successfully completed the FinPower Programme financially supported by IFAD in December 2012.

As a result of the success, our Association managed to acquire from IFAD another grant project entitled Enhancing the Access of Rural Poor to Sustainable Financial Services through Policy Dialogue, Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing in Rural Finance (FinServAccess Project), which represents the second phase of the FinPower Programme.  

While the new Project’s target countries include Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Nepal, the member institutions in other countries can also benefit from their participation in the programme activities and information exchange.  For the next three years, the Project will be one of APRACA’s major activities led by a Project Manager to be nominated at this Meeting.

Before we proceed with the Agenda of the EXCOM meeting, let us listen attentively to the distinguished speakers of the CEOs Forum who will share with us their insightful views and valuable experiences on major issues, challenges, strategies, best practices or successful stories on agricultural and rural finance of their institutions or countries.  I’m confident that we will benefit greatly from their thought-provoking ideas, practices and experience.

In closing, may I again say welcome to you all and may I wish you a successful meeting as well as a very fruitful forum. In addition, I wish all of you a pleasant and useful trip to a beautiful island of Phuket.

Thank you very much.