21 JANUARY 2003
Asian Development Bank Plans Spring Announcement of New Disclosure Policy

Early in 2003, the Asian Development Bank will be announcing a new policy on information disclosure, an ADB official has told freedominfo.org.

The Bank intends to take action in the first quarter of 2003, the official said, following an internal review that has been under way for more than a year. During that time, the relevant portion of ADB rules, Section 52 of its Operations manual, has been removed from its web site.

Bart W. Édes, of the ADB's Office of External Relations/NGO Center, responding to a freedominfo.org inquiry, explained future plans in a Jan. 14 e-mail.

He wrote: "ADB has prepared a draft entry for Section 52 of our Operations Manual. The text is undergoing internal review and we expect it to be approved by Management during the first quarter of 2003. Upon approval of the OM text, we hope to make available on our web site a list of unclassified documents."

By Toby McIntosh

Back to top