CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- A high-profile meeting of ministers, financiers and bankers at a venue known as the cultural capital of Thailand represented quite a change here last week. The 33rd annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank's Board of Governors was not only a novelty for exotic Chiang Mai, but also one of the most remarkable in the bank's history. The event attracted considerable interest on the part of both the media and nongovernmental organizations at a time when the whole region appears to be approaching the first stage of a timid recovery after Asia's black year, 1997.

What are the main conclusions to be drawn about this meeting by a neutral observer who is not an economist?

First, the general public interest in the conference confirms people's alertness to issues that particularly affect their everyday lives.