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.
President Asakawa participated in the 33rd Pacific Developing Member Countries Governors and ADB Management Meeting on 2 May at the 56th ADB Annual Meeting in Incheon. The President, in his opening remarks, outlined ADB’s commitment in two key areas, namely, to confront the climate crisis with bold and urgent action; and to address the social and economic setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure the Pacific is prepared for future crises. Papua New Guinea Treasurer and ADB Governor, and Pacific Governors Chairperson Ian Ling-Stucky reiterated the need for ADB’s support toward the Pacific’s recovery through a differentiated approach in climate change, digital connectivity, private sector development, safeguards, capacity development and supplementation, concessional financing and assistance, and diversity and inclusion.
At the press conference on 2 May to open ADB's 56th Annual Meeting in Incheon, President Asakawa announced the Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IF-CAP), a landmark program to significantly expand support for the region in the battle against climate change. ADB is the first multilateral development bank to adopt a leveraged guarantee mechanism for climate finance, where $3 billion in guarantees could create up to $15 billion in new loans for much-needed climate projects across the region. Read the news release and Q&A. Watch the ADB Insight video.
President Asakawa on 1 May visited the Songdo Convensia Convention Center in Incheon where he registered for the 56th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors, which will be held onsite from 2 to 5 May. Over 4,500 participants have already registered. See photos.
As a curtain raiser to the 56th ADB Annual Meeting, President Asakawa and international journalist Zeinab Badawi discussed ADB’s economic outlook for Asia and the Pacific, the challenges ahead for the region, the new operating model, and the reforms needed to introduce innovative climate financing and capital adequacy. Watch the recording.
During his mission to Washington, DC, from 10-16 April 2023, President Masatsugu Asakawa met with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and discussed how ADB’s work on trade and supply chains, climate, and domestic resource mobilization overlap with pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. He also met with US Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Trade and Development Alexia Latortue and discussed ADB’s ongoing evolution and various climate initiatives. President Asakawa also participated in the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings and in meetings with the heads of the multilateral and regional development banks, and with the private sector. With other MDB heads, the President also met the co-chairs of the G20 Expert Panel on MDB evolution. In these meetings, President Asakawa discussed MDB collaboration on shared global challenges as well as ADB’s enhanced climate ambition, efforts to mobilize private capital, and the new operating model.
The Asian Development Bank today approved a $15 million loan to help the Government of Georgia procure and deploy coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines and strengthen the country’s capacity to implement its vaccine program.
Leaders from the six member countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion have endorsed a new 10-year strategy to promote sustainable, inclusive development and strengthen economic integration to combat threats such as the coronavirus disease...
Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa received unanimous support for a second term as ADB President from the members of ADB’s Board of Governors voting in the recently concluded election.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a $500 million loan to help the Government of Pakistan procure and deploy safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and strengthen the country’s capacity to implement its vaccination program.
ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa today called for countries in Asia and the Pacific to take bold action to address climate change while ensuring fair and equitable economic growth amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of $165 million for the Government of Nepal to purchase safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The Asian Development Bank has announced its commitment to align its operations with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Bilateral, multilateral, and private sector partners joined the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) rapid response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020 through record high cofinancing of $16.4 billion.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of $150 million for Sri Lanka to purchase vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and improve vaccination information, delivery, and monitoring systems.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa reaffirmed ADB’s support for the Kyrgyz Republic in a virtual meeting held today with Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Economy and Finance for...
Video message by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the UN ESCAP High-level Dialogue on Shaping the Future of Regional Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific, 18 February 2021
Video message by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at ADB Staff Appreciation Day 2020, 11 December 2020
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at International Anticorruption Day: Strengthening Governance Systems to Combat Illicit Financial Flows in the Time of COVID-19, 9 December 2020
Keynote address by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the 19th Ministerial Conference of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, 7 December 2020.
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the International Anticorruption Conference, 1 December 2020
Keynote speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the 2020 ADBI Annual Conference on The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Policy Implications, 1 December 2020
Keynote address by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the Forum on Successful Project Design and Implementation: Rising to the COVID-19 Challenge and Beyond, 10 November 2020
Welcome remarks by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the 11th Meeting of the ADB President’s Advisory Group on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, 26 October 2020
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the Southeast Asia Development Symposium, 21 October 2020
Speech by Masatsugu Asakawa, President, Asian Development Bank, at the ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM), 2 October 2020
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.