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ADB President: Masatsugu Asakawa

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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.

04 May 2023 2023 Annual Meeting: ADB Governors' Business Session concludes

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.

03 May 2023 2023 Annual Meeting: Republic of Korea contributes additional $100 million to knowledge partnership fund

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.

03 May 2023 2023 Annual Meeting: ADB Governors highlight multilateral cooperation in transition to low-carbon economy

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.

03 May 2023 2023 Annual Meeting: President Asakawa calls for multilateral development banks’ evolution to meet the challenges of the times

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.

02 May 2023 2023 Annual Meeting: President Asakawa emphasizes regional cooperation in coping with climate change risks

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. 

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.

President in the News

Flickr Photostream

President Masatsugu Asakawa and ADB delegation stand in front of the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo with hosts from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa meets Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa speaking at the ODI’s Multilateral Development Bank Leaders Series on 21 June in London. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa meets with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) Andrew Mitchell, MP, State Minister for Development and Africa and ADB Governor. by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa meets with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso at their new headquarters in London. by 186525160@N08
Celebrating 25 years of the ADB-Tajikistan development partnership by 186525160@N08
TJRM inauguration with Tajikistan Prime Minister Kohir Rasulzoda by 186525160@N08
Inaugurating a solar-powered pumped water supply system in Rudaki District by 186525160@N08
Inaugurating a solar-powered pumped water supply system in Rudaki District by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawameets with Tajikistan President; leads 25-year partnership celebration in Dushanbe by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa affirms ADB’s support to scale up Kazakhstan’s access to global climate finance by 186525160@N08
President Masatsugu Asakawa affirms ADB’s support to scale up Kazakhstan’s access to global climate finance by 186525160@N08