Mr. Hao Lei, Deputy Director General of the Budget Department, Ministry of Finance, Dr. Wencai Zhang, Director General of the International Financial Cooperation Department, Ministry of Finance and former Vice President of ADB, Mr. Zhang Yansong, Director General of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Finance, Mr. Shixen Chen, Vice President of ADB, Dr. Li Kouqing, President of the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Institute and Shanghai National Accounting Institute, Distinguished officials from the Ministry of Finance and Yunnan Provincial Government of the People’s Republic of China, Friends, colleagues and partners in evaluation and in development, A pleasant good morning to you! Zǎoshang hǎo!
Welcome to the 4th Asian Evaluation Week here in the City of Kunming, a place rich in history spanning nearly 2,400 years. Already at his time, the famous explorer Marco Polo described Kunming as a “large and splendid city” upon seeing its great prosperity, the diversity of its people and the abundance of its land.
As the southwest gateway to the famed Silk Road, Kunming’s thriving trade facilitated the convergence of people, goods and knowledge thereby supporting the link between the East and the West. We could not have chosen a more appropriate place to hold our annual gathering of evaluators from across Asia and from around the world for stimulating meaningful partnerships in advancing our evaluation discipline. . .