KYOTO — Stressing "clean and green" development projects and vowing greater efforts to reduce poverty, the Asian Development Bank kicked off its 40th annual meeting Friday in Kyoto.

Protesters outside the venue, however, slammed the government's ADB funding, saying the projects are corrupt and benefit large Japanese trading houses at the expense of the environment and the people the bank is supposed to be helping.

"Development challenges are emerging, such as rising inequalities and increased pressure on the environment," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said. "Being in Kyoto 10 years after the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, it's appropriate to have a special focus on energy and the environment. And despite much progress, Asia remains home to two-thirds of the world's poor, a fact we must not lose sight of."