How We're Organized
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.
The Business Session of the 56th ADB Annual Meeting concluded on 4 May. President Asakawa in his speech stressed that ADB is actively evolving its mission to better support developing member countries (DMCs), focusing on investing in regional and global public goods to help mitigate increasing global threats. He also thanked the Republic of Korea for hosting the meeting in Incheon. ADB Governors approved the agenda items of the Business Session and expressed support for ADB’s ambitions, including reaching climate financing targets, as the bank prepares for the midterm review of its Strategy 2030. They stressed the need to explore ways to optimize ADB’s balance sheet and expand lending capacity to meet the continued strong demand for financing and knowledge from DMCs. Read the news release. Watch the recording.
President Asakawa and the Republic of Korea Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, also Chair of the ADB Board of Governors, Kyungho Choo on 3 May in Incheon signed an agreement for the government’s additional contribution of $100 million to the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund (EAKPF) for 2023 to 2028. The signing further strengthens the cooperation between the two institutions to promote the use of advanced digital technologies and provide knowledge solutions to ADB developing member countries. Since EAKPF's establishment in 2006, the Republic of Korea has contributed a total of $168 million to the fund. Read the news release.
President Asakawa, along with the ADB Governors from Germany, India, Indonesia, and the Republic of Korea, discussed key policies and reforms to ensure a sustainable recovery at the Governors’ Seminar on 3 May. Panelists highlighted the role of multilateral cooperation in facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy and leaning against global fracturing. They emphasized the importance of enacting climate-smart policies, forging stronger cooperation through regional trade agreements, and adjusting macroeconomic policies to address rising inflationary pressures and risks in the global economic environment.
In his opening address delivered on 3 May at the 56th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors in Incheon, President Asakawa underscored the need for ADB and other multilateral development banks to evolve to confront the enormous challenges they are facing. He said that development is no longer possible without effective climate action, and that MDBs must lead in investing in global public goods and mobilize levels of financing required from billions to trillions. President Asakawa thanked the Republic of Korea for hosting this year’s Annual Meeting and for the excellent arrangements. The opening session included remarks by the Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol as guest of honor, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, also Chair of the ADB Board of Governors, Kyungho Choo. A cultural presentation concluded the event. Watch the recording.
President Asakawa on 2 May highlighted that regional cooperation remains crucial amid uncertainties and climate change risks in his presentation at the 26th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ (AFMGM+3) Meeting in Incheon. He underscored the need for greater climate finance, which requires strong efforts to mobilize both public and private capital efficiently, urgently, and at a scale to match the severity of climate risks. He reaffirmed ADB’s commitment to generate investments, and create an enabling environment for climate finance in the region. Representatives from the IMF and AMRO joined the Economic Review and Policy Dialogue session of the meeting.
ADB joined with key partners in Indonesia to sign a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore the early retirement of the first coal-fired power plant owned by an independent power producer under ADB’s Energy Transition Mechanism.
ADB and and other international financial institutions are for the first time launching a joint video campaign, “Investing for a greener world,” to showcase their role in facilitating climate change solutions, ahead of COP27.
ADB has adopted a comprehensive reform road map, featuring a new operating model, to accelerate its transformation and more effectively serve the rapidly changing needs of its developing member countries in Asia and the Pacific.
ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and AFD Chief Executive Remy Rioux today signed a new Partnership Framework Agreement (PFA) to guide development collaboration in Asia and the Pacific from 2022 to 2028.
ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa reiterated the bank’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with Armenia in a virtual meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan.
ADB released its inaugural climate-related financial disclosures report, further demonstrating ADB’s commitment to addressing climate change as Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank.
ADB announced plans to provide at least $14 billion over 2022–2025 in a comprehensive program of support to ease a worsening food crisis in Asia and the Pacific, and improve long-term food security.
World leaders backed the establishment of the first-ever innovative guarantee fund specifically designed to invest in the education of the world’s poorest children and youth—the IFFEd.
ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote greater investment in the Asia and Pacific region and to recognize...
ADB retained its spot in the top “very good” category in the 2022 Aid Transparency Index, an independent measurement of aid transparency launched on 13 July.
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
Keynote speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the 2022 Global Meeting of the Emerging Markets Forum, 18 May 2022, Paris, France
Address by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, to the Board of Governors Business Session, at the 55th Annual Meeting, 5 May 2022
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the opening plenary session of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, 24 March 2022
Keynote address by Masatsugu Asakawa, ADB President, at the S20 High-Level Policy Webinar on Just Energy Transition, 17 March 2022
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.