SECOND FINANCE MINISTER TO LEAD DELEGATION TO ASEAN+3 FINANCE MINISTERS MEETING

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Bernama) -- Second finance minister, Ahmad Husni
Hanadzlah will lead the Malaysian delegation to the Asean+3 (China,
Japan and Korea) Finance Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia next month.

The meeting will be held on the fringe of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the
Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from May 2-5, 2009.

During the Asean+3 Finance Ministers' Meeting, the ministers will discuss,
among other matters, the multi lateralisation of the Chiang Mai Initiative, as
well as the process of the Asean+3 Finance Cooperation Fund.

These initiatives are part of the efforts to strengthen monetary and
financial cooperation in the East Asian region, said the Finance Ministry in a
statement released here, Wednesday.

Other related activities include the Asean Finance Ministers' Investors
seminar aimed at promoting the Asean region as a premier investment destination,
despite the ongoing financial crisis.

As part of the overall Asean Investment Day Programme, Malaysian Industrial
Development Authority (MIDA) will be participating in investment promotion
activities, it said.

Husni in his capacity as chair of the Asean Infrastructure Financing
Mechanism, will deliver a keynote address at the Asean World Bank
Infrastructure Finance Network Policy Seminar.

The 42nd Annual Meeting of the ADB board of governors will involve around
3,500 representativies of 67 countries, including government leaders, finance
ministers, as well as representatives from the private sector, media and non
governmental organisations.

In will be officially opened by the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono on May 4, 2009.

The meeting will focus on the proposed general capital increase of the ADB
and assessing ADB's strategy.

The meeting also provides an avenue for member countries to discuss the
operational direction of the bank.

The meeting of the ADB board of governors includes a series of
seminars on issues such as regional integration, climate change and the global
economic crisis.

-- BERNAMA