The Asian Development Bank (ADB) kicked off its Board of Governors annual meeting here on Monday, highlighting post-crisis development for the Asia Pacific region. Addressing the opening session, Uzbek President Islam Karimov warned that a 'complex, painful and lasting' process of the economic recovery is lying ahead despite the consensus that the acute phase of the global financial crisis and the economic downturn has passed. Anti-crisis measures such as long-term innovative projects of modernization, technical and technological re-equipment, which aims at deep structural changes and diversification of production, will definitely benefit countries in the post-crisis period, Karimov said. ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda told the Board of Governors that difficulties remain although the situation has improved. 'One year ago, we met in crisis. Today, we meet in hope. As the world begins to emerge from recession, it is clear that Asia is leading the global recovery,' said Kuroda. 'Despite a robust recovery, challenges remain, with some of the region's smaller and poorer economies still struggling.' In order to improve long-term prospects, Kuroda said, Asia 'should see itself as not only a producer and exporter of its goods and services, but also a consumer,' while pursuing a more socially inclusive growth by increasing investments in health, education and skills training, social safety nets, and infrastructure. It is also important for Asia Pacific countries to further intensify regional cooperation, he added. 'Asia is ready to take the next step to weave the strands of subregional efforts into a garland encompassing the region as a whole.' The ADB launched its first annual meeting in Central Asia on Saturday, which was dedicated to discussions about poverty, climate change and regional integration. Headquartered in Manila, the Philippines, the ADB is an international development finance institution of 67 members. The ADB aims to help developing countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of their people's livelihood via providing loans and technical assistance. 