Haruhiko Kuroda (L4), president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (L5) and delegates pose for a group photo in Bali, Indonesia, on May 5, 2009. The 42nd ADB Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors concluded on Tuesday. [Xinhua]

All countries must be vigilant and work together to minimize risks and costs of influenza A/H1N1 in human and economic terms, said Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday.

"The spread of diseases continues to challenge all nations. It remains to be seen how the recent influenza outbreak will further affect the region," Kuroda said in his closing statement of the ADB annual meeting.

The 42nd Annual Meeting of ADB's Board of Governors ended on Tuesday in Bali, Indonesia.

"At this moment, Asia is not so much affected by this new influenza," said Kuroda. "If situation becomes more serious, we will provide financial and technical assistance."

At Tuesday's press conference, Kuroda reiterated the importance of the experience of SARS and avian flu for Asian governments to make appropriate measures against the new influenza.

"It's quite natural for governments of countries (which have been affected by such communicative diseases) to be more concerned for the possibility of the influenza," Kuroda said.

So far, nine confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 have been reported in the Asia-Pacific region -- two from South Korea, one from China's Hong Kong and six from New Zealand.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2009)