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Masatsugu Atsakawa

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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.

08 March 2022 ADB celebrates International Women’s Day

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 8 March 2022 opened the International Women’s Day celebration for ADB and reiterated the bank’s commitment to accelerating gender equality and womens’ empowerment. In his remarks, he underscored that women's knowledge, skills, and leadership are some of the most significant resources that the region has for addressing the climate crisis. Maldives’ Special Envoy for Climate Change Sabra Ibrahim Nordeen gave the keynote speech where she highlighted the urgency of closing the gap on gender equality to achieve more sustainable and resilient paths of development. See Gender Month events.

23 February 2022 President Asakawa meets with Indonesia's President Widodo, attends G20 Meeting

President Masatsugu Asakawa attended the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting on 17-18 February 2022 in Jakarta. President Asakawa discussed sustainable finance, emphasizing ADB’s work with Indonesia and the Philippines on the Energy Transition Mechanism. He spoke on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recovery in Asia and the Pacific, and international taxation. The President underscored support for the G20 initiative in enhancing collaboration between finance and health decision-makers, and expressed ADB’s readiness to deploy more financing and technical assistance to support and strengthen the health sector in Asia and the Pacific. President Asakawa met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on 18 February 2022. They discussed ADB’s active support to Indonesia’s G20 presidency focusing on domestic resource mobilization and sustainable finance, including innovative energy transition. President Asakawa reiterated ADB’s continued assistance for Indonesia to recover stronger from the pandemic and achieve sustainable growth. On the sidelines of the G20 meeting, President Asakawa also met with Indonesia's Finance Minister and ADB Governor Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo, Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and COP26 President Alok Sharma. The President commended Indonesia’s leadership in G20.

08 February 2022 President Asakawa meets with Germany's state secretaries

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 8 February 2022 met with the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Jochen Flasbarth, and Parliamentary State Secretary, Niels Annen. They discussed the longevity and importance of the partnership between ADB and Germany. President Asakawa also thanked Germany for its strong support for Asian Development Fund 13 and the Asia-Pacific Climate Finance Fund. They concurred that addressing climate change and developing innovative solutions to the complex challenges our clients face is clearly a common priority for ADB and Germany, further providing fertile ground for deepening collaboration. They also discussed Germany's hosting of the G7 this year and the great importance it stresses on climate change.

03 February 2022 President Asakawa meets Ireland Ambassador to the Philippines

President Masatsugu Asakawa and Ireland’s first resident Ambassador to the Philippines, William Carlos, in a courtesy call on 3 February 2022 reflected on the success of the partnership between ADB and Ireland. They reiterated their intent to strengthen collaboration building on Ireland’s support for the Asian Development Fund and the trust fund contributions addressing climate change and disaster resilience in Small Island Developing States. The ambassador praised ADB for its ability to be innovative and flexible in response to the challenges over the last two years. The meeting showed a clear alignment of priorities between the Government of Ireland and ADB in relation to domestic resource mobilization and tax reform as a key pillar of economic recovery post COVID-19. Having an Irish ambassador based in Manila was welcomed by President Asakawa and both felt it would herald a new chapter in the partnership.

02 February 2022 President Asakawa meets Uzbekistan deputy prime minister; confirms continued private sector-led support

President Masatsugu Asakawa, in a virtual meeting on 2 February 2022 with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade and ADB Governor Sardor Umurzakov, confirmed ADB’s continued support for private sector-led development as the country pursues a new development strategy. This year, ADB plans to continue expanding coverage of its private sector operations and support for renewable energy. Mr. Umurzakov expressed his appreciation for ADB’s assistance in Uzbekistan’s economic reforms and infrastructure development, and requested further support in human capital development and private sector-led road rehabilitation and maintenance. He said Uzbekistan's new national development strategy prioritizes improving people's livelihoods, society and reforming the state. Read the news release.

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.

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56th ADB Annual Meeting: Future Host Country Event (Tbilisi 2024) by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Future Host Country Event (Tbilisi 2024) by 186525160@N08
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56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors' Business Session by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors' Business Session by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors' Business Session by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors' Business Session by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors' Business Session by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors’ Seminar: Policies to Support Asia’s Rebound by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors’ Seminar: Policies to Support Asia’s Rebound by 186525160@N08
56th ADB Annual Meeting: Governors’ Seminar: Policies to Support Asia’s Rebound by 186525160@N08