BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 2
Trend:
Masatsugu Asakawa has been unanimously elected President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by its Board of Governors, Trend reports with reference to the press office of ADB.
Former Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs, Asakawa will assume office as ADB's 10th President on January 17, 2020.
He will succeed Takehiko Nakao, who will leave office on January 16, 2020. Asakawa will finish the unexpired term of President Nakao, which ends on November 23, 2021.
"Asakawa’s extensive and diverse experience in international finance and development will serve ADB well in pursuing its vision of a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific. The ADB Board of Governors looks forward to working with Asakawa," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea and Chair of the ADB Board of Governors Hong Nam-Ki said.
In a career spanning close to four decades, Asakawa has held a range of senior positions at the Ministry of Finance of Japan, including Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, and gained diverse professional experience in development policy, foreign exchange markets, and international tax policy.
He served as Finance Deputy for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Fukuoka, Japan. Furthermore, in the immediate aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, he took part in the first G20 Leaders’ Summit Meeting in his capacity as Executive Assistant to the then Prime Minister Taro Aso.
Asakawa has had frequent engagement with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, including as Chair of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs from 2011 to 2016.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members - 49 from the region.