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.