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ADB President: Masatsugu Asakawa

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Masatsugu Asakawa

Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office on 17 January 2020.

22 November 2023 ADB hosts High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) and High-level roundtable

The HELP meeting, chaired by Dr. Han Seung-soo, former Prime Minister of Korea and Chair of ADB Water Advisory Group, convened at ADB headquarters on 22 November. President Masatsugu Asakawa delivered the welcome remarks. Discussions centered on preparations for the 10th World Water Forum to be hosted by the Government of Indonesia in May 2024. Mainstreaming of water and disasters in global processes and green-grey infrastructure were among the other themes discussed. 

22 November 2023 President Asakawa speaks at the virtual G20 Leaders' Summit

On 22 November, President Masatsugu Asakawa joined the virtual G20 Leaders' Summit hosted by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his intervention, President Asakawa emphasized the urgency of addressing accelerating climate change and highlighted ADB's ambition to strengthen countries’ and communities' resilience to climate change and support the net-zero transition. The President also expressed ADB’s commitment to deliver on the MDB evolution agenda, as evidenced by the significant increase in ADB’s financing capacity achieved under the new capital adequacy framework and the roll-out of the new operating model. In closing, President Asakawa congratulated the Government of India on a successful G20 and underscored that ADB was grateful for the opportunity to support their Presidency, particularly in the areas of energy, disaster risk reduction, gender, and Cities of Tomorrow.

21 November 2023 President Asakawa, VP Yasmin join 2023 ADB Gender Forum: 2 Billion Changemakers

The 2-day Gender Forum: 2 Billion Changemakers – Women Leading on Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific gathered 400 participants from 70 countries representing developing member country governments, women’s machineries, private sector, development partners, civil society organizations, academe, and ADB. President Masatsugu Asakawa, in his remarks on 21 November, underscored women's role as leaders and skilled workers in the just energy transition, green economy, and in climate action. The 2023 UN Women International Network for Disaster Risk Reduction leadership awardee Shaila Shahid provided the keynote, and VP Fatima Yasmin delivered the closing remarks.

13 November 2023 President Asakawa visits Fiji; holds virtual consultation with ADB Governor for Tuvalu

President Masatsugu Asakawa visited Fiji from 11 to 13 November to mark 53 years of partnership with ADB. He met with Fiji Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics and ADB Governor Biman Prasad to discuss the Country Partnership Strategy 2024-2028. They discussed the role of new, more concessional lending for small island developing states to support their infrastructure needs, strengthen social services, and scale up investments in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The President also met with Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka; Women, Children, and Social Protection Minister Lynda Tabuya; and Public Works, Transport, and Meteorological Services Minister Ro Filipe Tuisawau. 

President Asakawa led a roundtable meeting with Asian Development Fund (ADF) partners to discuss the Pacific development priorities and strengthening partnerships across the region. As Category 3 Cyclone Mal prevented a planned visit to Tuvalu, while in Suva he held virtual consultation with Tuvalu Minister of Finance and ADB Governor Seve Paeniu to reiterate ADB’s commitment to the country’s long-term climate adaptation plan. They also discussed the ADF replenishment and future ADB investment priorities.

09 November 2023 President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate José Ramos-Horta visits ADB

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 9 November welcomed Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta (1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner) to ADB headquarters. During the bilateral meeting joined by Alternate Executive Director Noor Ahmed, VP Scott, ADB staff, and Timor-Leste senior officials, President Asakawa highlighted ADB’s long-standing partnership with Timor-Leste and pledged full support for the government’s socio-economic and infrastructure development priorities. He emphasized that supporting Timor-Leste on its accession to ASEAN will continue to be a core priority of ADB’s assistance to Timor-Leste.

Masatsugu Asakawa is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office on 17 January 2020. In August 2021, he was reelected for a 5-year term starting on 24 November 2021.

Under Mr. Asakawa’s leadership, ADB made significant contributions to the region’s COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery planning with a $20 billion comprehensive response package and $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility. He also played a key role in rolling out a series of new and innovative financing initiatives—including an Energy Transition Mechanism — to spur the region’s low-carbon development and elevated ADB’s 2030 cumulative climate financing ambition to $100 billion as ADB continues to focus on the battle against climate change.

Prior to joining ADB, he served as Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and has a close-to-four decades’ career at the Ministry of Finance with diverse professional experience that cuts across both domestic and international fronts.

In the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, Mr. Asakawa, in his capacity as Executive Assistant to Prime Minister Taro Aso, took part in the first G20 Leaders’ Summit Meeting in November 2008. He was instrumental in orchestrating a globally coordinated financial package to abate the financial crisis, including a $100 billion loan from Japan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Then in 2016, in his capacity as Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, he took on a leading role for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Sendai under the Japanese presidency, where a sustainable and inclusive development agenda was extensively discussed.

Most recently, he served as Finance Deputy for the G20 meetings under the Japanese presidency, playing a pivotal role for the success of the G20 Osaka Summit as well as the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting in Fukuoka. Some of his outstanding achievements in Osaka include the endorsement by the G20 Leaders of the “G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment” and the “G20 Shared Understanding on the Importance of UHC Financing in Developing Countries”. Before these, he had occupied various prominent positions within the Finance Ministry, including director positions in charge of development policy issues, foreign exchange markets, and international tax policy.

Mr. Asakawa’s professional experience extends beyond the realms of the Japanese government. Most notably, he served as Chief Advisor to ADB President Kimimasa Tarumizu between 1989 and 1992, during which time he spearheaded the creation of a new office focused on strategic planning. Also, he had frequent engagement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in such positions as Chair for Committee on Fiscal Affairs (2011–2016). Furthermore, he was a senior staff at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF (1996–2000). In the meantime, he gave lectures as Visiting Professor at the Graduate School of Economic Science, Saitama University (2006–2009), and at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo (2012–2015).

Mr. Asakawa obtained his BA from University of Tokyo (Economics Faculty) in 1981, and MPA from Princeton University, USA, in 1985.

President in the News

Flickr Photostream

ADB, Fiji Discuss Support for Inclusive Growth and Enhanced Climate Resilience by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa and ADB delegation stand in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo with hosts from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa meets Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa speaking at the ODI’s Multilateral Development Bank Leaders Series on 21 June in London. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa meets with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Andrew Mitchell, MP, State Minister for Development and Africa and ADB Governor. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa meets with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso at their new headquarters in London. by 186525160@N08
Celebrating 25 years of the ADB-Tajikistan development partnership by 186525160@N08
TJRM inauguration with Tajikistan Prime Minister Kohir Rasulzoda by 186525160@N08
Inaugurating a solar-powered pumped water supply system in Rudaki District by 186525160@N08
Inaugurating a solar-powered pumped water supply system in Rudaki District by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawameets with Tajikistan President; leads 25-year partnership celebration in Dushanbe by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa affirms ADB’s support to scale up Kazakhstan’s access to global climate finance by 186525160@N08