ADB opens election for next president
Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Mon, 04 Nov 2019 16:13:22 +0000
Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has opened the election for its next president on Monday.
In a statement on Monday, the multilateral lender explained ADB residents are nominated from among its regional members and elected by its board of governors.
ADB said it accepted nominations from October 1-31 this year.
It noted that Masatsugu Asakawa, currently special advisor to Japan’s prime minister and minister of finance, was the sole nominee for the position.
In October, Asakawa secured the support of the Philippines, with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd saying his distinguished career and vast experience in global financial affairs are key assets that would enable the multilateral institution to craft new strategies in sync with its goal of wider economic inclusion across the region.
Dominguez stressed that Asakawa, who has worked extensively with various international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, would also be able to sustain the ADB’s ongoing efforts to work closely with the World Bank in delivering more efficiently development assistance to the Asia Pacific region.
“We welcome the nomination of Special Advisor to the Japanese Prime Minister and to the Minister of Finance, Masatsugu Asakawa as the next president of the ADB, where his extensive experience in international finance, development and taxation would prove to be a valuable asset in helping the ADB continue reinventing itself and pursuing new strategies to help the region achieve inclusive growth amid a global economic slowdown,” he has said.
Meanwhile, ADB also announced that governors are invited to vote on Asakawa’s candidacy starting November 30, while the result of the election is scheduled to be announced on December 2.
The next ADB president will succeed its current head, Takehiko Nakao, who has announced his resignation in September effective January 16, 2020.
Nakao assumed office as ADB president on April 28, 2013.