Bangalore: Reflecting the importance of research done in developing nations, World Bank will kick-start on May 21 its three-day Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) with the theme "Accelerating Development".

Eminent scholars and practioners from across the globe would present their research findings and discuss key policy issues on poverty reduction at the ABCDE, one of the world's best known meets on development, World Bank officials said.

This is for the first time that the conference is being held in a developing country. Since 1989, the ABCDE has been held annually in Washington and for the past four years, a similar conference has been held each year in Europe. Starting with Bangalore this year, each of these conferences would be held in a developing country every other year, they said.

The change in the locale, they said, reflects the growing importance of research done in developing countries and the desire to bring such meets closer to participants in the developing world.

The gathering in Bangalore is being organised jointly by World Bank Development Economics vice- presidency (DEC), the office of the bank's South Asia regional chief economist, the bank's poverty reduction and economic management unit at the New Delhi office, a bank statement said.

Nicholas Stern, senior vice-president and chief economist of the World Bank, who previously taught at the Indian Statistical Institute in Bangalore and Delhi, would open the conference and deliver one of the keynote speeches. Infotech czar and Wipro chairman Azim Premji would deliver the second key note address.

PTI