New Delhi. Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy who is on a four-day visit to Philippines to participate in the Asian Clean Energy Forum, today called on Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian development Bank (ADB) at its headquarters in Manila. In the meeting that took place on the sidelines of the Forum,the two dignitaries discussed various issues relating to renewable energy. Dr. Abdullah urged the President to support demonstration projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and also requested him for creating a guarantee facility for banks for stepping up lending to grid connected solar power projects. He also sought the support of ADB for setting up large solar parks in the country under the national solar mission.

President Kuroda emphasized that India is an important destination for investments. He also informed the Minister that under the Tashkent initiative, which was attended by the Indian Finance Minister, the ADB would look at supporting a number of initiatives in clean energy in India. He also informed the Minister of the 'Energy-for-all' initiative of the ADB which focuses on scaling up access to reliable and modern energy services for the poor.