He made the remark at the “Asia 2015: Promoting Growth, Ending Poverty Conference”, organised by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in collaboration with the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in London on March 6-7.

The two-day meeting aimed to build new forms of partnership to eradicate poverty in Asia. During the event, ministers of finance and planning and senior officials from across Asia will discuss how Asian countries, together with development agencies and the international community, will meet the remaining Millennium Development Goals.

The conference reported that rapid growth in Asia will continue to have enormous impact on the global economy. Asia has lifted more people out of poverty than any other region at any time in history. With continued efforts, it is possible to eradicate poverty in Asia in the next generation.

Participants, however, agreed that Asia still faces huge challenges of nutrition, health, education, social exclusion, water and sanitation.