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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

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.

07 April 2021 President Asakawa, IFC Managing Director discuss expanding development cooperation

President Masatsugu Asakawa and the new International Finance Corporation Managing Director and Executive Vice President Makhtar Diop in a conference call on 7 April 2021 discussed common development goals and strategic priorities. President Asakawa congratulated Mr. Diop on his appointment on 1 March 2021 and appreciated the collaborative partnership that has seen ADB-IFC cofinancing rise about fourfold in the last 10 years. The President called for expanding collaboration with IFC on responding to COVID-19 vaccine production and delivery, tackling climate change, bridging the digital divide, and mobilizing private financing toward a more resilient and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.

07 April 2021 First SDG Dialogue - A Decade of Action: Enabling the SDGs in Asia and the Pacific

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 7 April 2021 delivered keynote remarks on ADB's approach to the SDGs at the first SDG Dialogue. A panel including former New Zealand Prime Minister and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, ADB Executive Director Roger Fischer, and ADB Directors' Advisor Bredina Drollet explored opportunities for ADB to help countries make progress towards the SDGs as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. VP Bambang Susantono delivered closing remarks. Read the news release.

31 March 2021 President Asakawa speaks at Climate and Development Ministerial hosted by UK

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 31 March 2021 spoke at the Climate and Development Ministerial hosted by the UK to shape discussion across climate, development and recovery agendas and build momentum for COP26. In his speech, the President emphasized the need to put ambitious climate actions at the center of development and provided an overview of ADB's commitments to scale them up through corporate targets, a holistic approach for adaption and resilience, increased support for local adaptation actions, and aligning ADB operations with the Paris Agreement goals. Read the news release.

30 March 2021 President Asakawa speaks at ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 30 March 2021 participated in the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Special Session held virtually as part of the 7th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting and related events. In his speech, President Asakawa underscored the importance of strengthening regional cooperation and improving domestic resource mobilization as key policy priorities to achieve a strong, inclusive, and sustainable recovery in ASEAN. See the President's presentation.

23 March 2021 President Asakawa speaks at London School of Economics on ADB's role in getting Asia back on track

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 18 March 2021 addressed faculty, students, and guests at the London School of Economics and Political Science webinar on getting developing Asia back on track. He discussed ADB's role in helping its developing members return to the path of resilient and sustainable recovery through inclusive human resource development, green infrastructure investments, accelerated digitalization, stronger domestic resource mobilization, and deeper regional cooperation. He also discussed ADB's response to the COVID-19 crisis, including vaccine support, and provided an overview of ADB initiatives aligned with the UK's COP26 priorities.

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.