Manila Y2K summit asks for WB, ADB aid<\/p>\n
MANILA (Reuters): Eighteen Asia-Pacific nations and economies
\non Wednesday appealed for funding from the World Bank, Asian
\nDevelopment Bank and other international financial institutions
\nto rid the region of the millennium bug.<\/p>\n
They made the appeal in a 16-point Manila declaration summing
\nup the action they had agreed on during the three-day second
\nglobal Y2K summit in the Philippine capital.<\/p>\n
The millennium bug, called Y2K, is a programming flaw in
\ncomputers that may cause them to crash on Jan. 1, 2000, causing
\nwidespread confusion and chaos.<\/p>\n
"It is agreed that the nations and economies of the Asian
\nregion...call upon the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and
\nother organizations and countries to review and increase their
\nlevel of support for national and regional Y2K efforts," said the
\ndeclaration issued at the end of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Most of the costs of the Y2K compliance efforts in the region
\nhave been borne so far by the private sector, Bruce McConnel,
\nchairman of the Washington-based International Year 2000
\nCooperation Center, told reporters.<\/p>\n
He said the funding being made available through multilateral
\ndevelopment banks in terms of grants and loans was very modest
\nfrom the standpoint of making a major impact on the funding
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
McConnel said there was still no estimate of the total Y2K
\ncosts for the region.<\/p>\n
Amable Aguiluz, chairman of the Philippine Commission on Year
\n2000 compliance, said Asian economies could use available World
\nBank lending windows for developing countries, which include a
\ngrant of US$500,000 from the United Kingdom and the United
\nStates.<\/p>\n
"At the same time, the World Bank has funding that is
\navailable for developing Asian countries. The Philippines has
\ngiven its interest to borrow...securities grant from the World
\nBank for its Y2K effort," Aguiluz told reporters.<\/p>\n
"Malaysia, for instance, has already applied for a $100
\nmillion grant from the World Bank and it's now being considered,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The declaration said the Y2K bug was not a mere technical
\nproblem arising from a computer glitch "but a societal management
\nproblem".<\/p>\n
"If not addressed, (it) will adversely affect the delivery of
\nessential services in critical sectors of society, including
\npower, telecommunications, finance, transport, and health," the
\nstatement said.<\/p>\n
Delegates agreed that because of the interconnected nature of
\nsystems, regional cooperation and the participation of
\ninternational sector organizations was essential to assure the
\ncontinued functioning of critical sectors in the new millennium.<\/p>\n
They also vowed to increase information sharing across borders
\non Y2K readiness, practices, lessons, systems as well as
\nfailures.<\/p>\n
The declaration was signed by Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Fiji,
\nGuam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal,
\nPalau, Philippines, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and
\nVietnam. Hong Kong attended as an observer.<\/p>",
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