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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.

18 March 2021 ADB, ESCAP renew collaboration MOU

President Masatsugu Asakawa and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Executive Secretary Armida Alisjahbana renewed a Memorandum of Understanding on 18 March 2021 to reaffirm the organizations’ commitment to collaborate on a range of issues including climate change, domestic resource mobilization and taxation, energy, environment, urban development, social protection, and regional cooperation and integration.

17 March 2021 Leaders at SEADS discuss collaboration for post-COVID-19 recovery

The 2nd Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) opened virtually on 17 March 2021, exploring how Southeast Asian nations can position themselves for inclusive post-COVID-19 recovery. In the opening keynote address, President Masatsugu Asakawa described how countries can benefit from investments in green infrastructure, big data, and revenue mobilization as the region recovers from the pandemic. Read the news release.

08 March 2021 ADB celebrates International Women's Day

In opening remarks at a virtual celebration with ADB staff on 8 March 2021, President Masatsugu Asakawa reiterated his full commitment to placing gender equality at the center of ADB's COVID-19 response and stressed the importance of women's leadership for building back better. He also underscored our internal commitment to achieving gender equality, noting both ongoing progress and the need to continue the focus on achieving gender representation targets.

04 March 2021 President Asakawa delivers keynote speech at Johns Hopkins-ADB event on COVID-19

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 4 March 2021 delivered a keynote speech during the Johns Hopkins-ADB virtual conference on Meeting the Challenge of COVID-19 in Asia. The President, in his presentation, provided an overview of the economic outlook for developing Asia and explained ADB’s continuing support to its members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference was moderated by Professor Kent Calder, Director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies.

18 February 2021 President Asakawa delivers keynote message at ESCAP's High-level Dialogue

President Masatsugu Asakawa on 18 February 2021 delivered a keynote message during ESCAP's High-Level Dialogue themed, “Shaping the Future of Regional Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific.” The President discussed how ADB is supporting DMCs during the COVID-19 crisis, including through the APVAX, and highlighted three key areas for stronger regional cooperation, including building resilience especially against health security risks; restoring strong trade, deep regional supply chains, and vibrant investment; and strengthening domestic resource mobilization and international tax cooperation. The event was led by Armida Alijahbana, Under-Secretary-General of UN and Executive Secretary, ESCAP.

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.