Many Asian countries have been able to maintain rates of growth well above 6 per cent in real terms over the course of two decades. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) reports that with the exception of Pacific developing countries, nearly all countries in Asia grew at more than 5 per cent in 2004 (ADB 2005).
Therefore one of the primary challenges for Asian governments and international partners in the coming decade is to ensure that growth continues in states where performance has been strong, and to increase growth in lagging regions and states where growth has been weaker.
