Autumn seems to be the season of choice for conferences: our own NRN, the APEC in Thailand and now the Second Regional Conference on Poverty Reductions Strategies scheduled for 16-18 October in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank, the conference will be participated by south-east countries. As it happens, delegates from South Asia are invited only as observers.