Masatsugu Asakawa was re-elected as Asian Development Bank (ADB) president for the second term during an election recently.
He received unanimous support for a second term from the members of ADB’s Board of Governors. His new five-year term will begin on November 24 this year, according to a statement issued by the ADB on Tuesday.
Asakawa was first elected as ADB’s 10th President on November 30, 2019, and assumed the position on January 17, 2020, serving the remaining term of his predecessor, Takehiko Nakao.
“My vision for the upcoming term is for ADB to serve as the premier development institution for Asia and the Pacific as it supports its developing member countries (DMCs) in recovering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on a renewed path toward the prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future we envisioned in our Strategy 2030,” said Asakawa after re-election.
Since taking office in January 2020, ADB has 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.
ADB also concluded in September 2020 a successful replenishment of more than $4 billion for its Asian Development Fund and Technical Assistance Special Fund, which provide critical grant resources for vulnerable DMCs.
Prior to joining ADB in 2019, Asakawa was the Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and has a close-to-four decades’ career at the Ministry of Finance, where he gained extensive and diverse experience in international finance and development.
Asakawa also successfully led international taxation discussions including Base Erosion Profit Shifting project as Chair for Committee on Fiscal Affairs in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development from 2011 to 2016.
Born in 1958, Asakawa holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tokyo and a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University.
The statement says, “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, the ADB is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
