On February 26th, Technical Assistance Forum: Research on Local Pension Industry was held by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in downtown Yichang. It’s learnt from the forum that ADB is about to provide its first assistance to pension industry in Yichang, and when the program is decided, ADB will sponsor it and call in experts home and abroad to give suggestions on the development of it.

　　At present, Yichang has started to build the pension industry for the aged based on national and provincial service system. Then there will be 83 urban community service centers for the aged and more than 350 beds for foster care and daycare. Furthermore, the plan of mutual supported care will be carried out in rural areas. And there will be 305 mutual supported care centers for the aged who are left behind in rural areas.

　　It is learnt that the experts from the ADB technical assistance delegation came to Yichang on February 23rd to conduct a survey for a week. In this forum, experts from the delegation introduced the task, scheduling and funding budget and other aspects of the research project of pension industry. Related heads of Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Municipal Finance Bureau, Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, Municipal Poverty Relief Office and Municipal Human Resource and Social Security Bureau stated the difficulties and problems in the care for the aged in the forum.

　　Wang Guobin, Deputy Mayor of Yichang City, pointed out that the pension industry matters as the most important livelihood project and we should spare no effort to work it out, so as to ensure social harmony, and that by making the most of international technological resources provided by ADB, and by learning from experiences home and abroad, it will provide us specific measures and forward-thinking strategies for the structural adjustment and development planning of service for the aged. (Reporter: Wang Suzhi; correspondent: Peng Jingbo)