Fiji, May 7 -- Cook Islands has encouraged the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support its development aspirations - recognising its vulnerabilities and strengths, adopting a differentiated approach.

And, Prime Minister Mark Brown used his statement in Milan, the host of the 58th Annual Meeting, to request the ADB to 'ensure that all our entitlements under the Asian Development Fund 14 (ADF14) are available and accessible within four years.

ADB's Vice President for East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific said allocation for Pacific Developing Member States (PDMCs) under ADF14 will increase by more than a third.

The ADF is the bank's largest source of grants for operations in its poorest and most vulnerable developing member countrie...