Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today.

I am pleased to be here to attend the Conference on the Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka. As I told the conference earlier today, the Asian Development Bank will continue to do whatever it can to support the peace process, help the people of Sri Lanka recover from the conflict, and build a new and prosperous Sri Lanka.

ADB is one of Sri Lanka's largest and most important development partners. We remain firmly committed to the development of Sri Lanka, and to the well-being of all Sri Lankans. This commitment is shared by all of our development partners, as has been most recently demonstrated by the collaborative efforts of ADB, the World Bank and the United Nations, with important assistance from our bilateral colleagues, NGOs, the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to prepare a comprehensive needs assessment of the conflict-affected areas. The needs assessment was presented at the Conference today and served as a basis for the donors' pledges of support.

ADB's assistance program for the conflict-affected north and east of Sri Lanka began in early 2001, even before the ceasefire. We are helping people there gain access to shelter, education, health, other basic services and jobs.

Recently, we have been saddened by the terrible loss of life and destruction of property caused by the floods in the south of the country. We have offered post-flood rehabilitation assistance, and we are now working with the Government to translate this offer into reality on the ground.

In general, our activities are now expanding as the situation becomes more conducive to development. We will continue to seek opportunities to improve the lives of all people in Sri Lanka, and to meet the country's emerging reconstruction and development needs. It is of central importance that peace dividends be realized for the entire country, not just for the conflict-affected areas. These dividends will be realized through faster and broad-based growth, which will create more employment and accelerate poverty reduction.

Since last year, I visited Sri Lanka twice, first in March 2002, soon after the ceasefire agreement was signed, and again in March 2003. I was impressed by the government's recognition of the difficult situation facing the country, and by its strong commitment to peace and reform.

There are many difficult development challenges in the south. In the north and east, physical and social infrastructure have been devastated. But I was encouraged by the positive changes that occurred between my two visits-changes made possible by the ceasefire agreement. Some peace dividends are already clear, particularly the positive impact on the people's attitude. But the people are looking forward to more tangible benefits and visible signs of progress.

ADB is committed to providing assistance to Sri Lanka that builds upon and supports the peace process and helps to meet the peoples' expectations. We are now formulating our new country strategy in close consultation with the Government, our development partners and other stakeholders. The strategy will guide our operations in the coming years. It will accelerate support for the peace process and maximize peace dividends for the entire country.

The resources required for reconstruction and development are enormous. It is possible that ADB's assistance to Sri Lanka could total up to $1 billion over the next four years, a substantial increase over past support. The magnitude and timing of our assistance will, of course, depend very much on resumption of the peace talks and progress toward a formal end to the conflict. These steps are critical to creating the necessary environment for reconstruction and sustainable development of Sri Lanka.

Thank you.