ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Over 123 representatives from 96 economies attended the High-Level Regional Tax Conference 2023 held from 6 to 7 November at ADB headquarters. President Masatsugu Asakawa, in welcome remarks, expressed hope that the conference will lead to better approaches to raising more revenues domestically. Leading tax experts and country representatives shared their knowledge and reform experiences on the challenges governments face in domestic resource mobilization and identified the support needed for future tax system reforms. The conference brought together heads of tax administration agencies from ADB member countries, senior representatives of development partners, and ADB staff.
ADB has approved a $350 million special policy-based loan to provide budget support to Sri Lanka for economic stabilization.
Opening remarks by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at International Women’s Day 2023, 8 March 2023
Keynote address by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the 21st Ministerial Conference of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, 24 November 2022
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, ADB, at the Indonesia Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) Country Platform launch, 14 November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia
Keynote address by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the Business 20 (B20) Summit dialogue forum of the G20, 13 November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the 14th IMT-GT Summit, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 10 November 2022
Address by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, to the Board of Governors Business Session (Part II), at the 55th Annual Meeting, 27 September 2022
Opening statement by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the President's press conference at the 55th Annual Meeting, 27 September 2022
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the G20 2022 Ministerial Symposium on Tax and Development, 14 July 2022, Bali, Indonesia
Keynote address by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the Sydney Energy Forum, 12 July 2022, Sydney, Australia
ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa on 18 February delivered a keynote message during ESCAP's High-Level Dialogue themed, “Shaping the Future of Regional Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific.”
ADB's $9 billion COVID-19 vaccine initiative, the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility, or APVAX, will provide a comprehensive program to support developing Asia and the Pacific’s vaccine process.
Keynote speech by ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa at the 2020 ADBI Annual Conference on The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Policy Implications.
Since assuming office on 17 January 2020, President Masatsugu Asakawa has been leading the Asian Development Bank through global influence and strong country presence across Asia and the Pacific.
ADB tripled the size of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic to $20 billion and approved measures to streamline its operations for quicker and more flexible delivery of assistance, says ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.
Visiting the frontline of the Bayan Bayanihan emergency food program, ADB President Masa Asakawa lent a helping hand to deliver needed supplies to poor homes in Metro Manila.
Recognizing the urgency of the global coronavirus pandemic, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa introduces ADB’s new $6.5 billion assistance package for its developing members.
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.