56th Annual General Meeting of Board of Directors of ADB

Tags: Economy/Finance International News

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the 56th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Incheon, South Korea on May 2.

An overview of the news

• Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman led the delegation from the Indian side.

• The meeting was attended by official delegations of ADB members, observers, non-governmental and civil society organizations, financial institutions and banks, and other private sector companies.

• Sitharaman also participated in the annual meeting and focal events such as Governors Business.

• She also participated as a panelist in the ADB Governors' Seminar on Policies to Support Asia's Rebound.

The functions of the Union Finance Minister included the following components:

• Interaction with global economists, governors/finance ministers of ADB member countries, etc.

• Bilateral engagement with countries and international organizations.

• Interact with global business leaders and investors in roundtables.

• Engagement with community diaspora.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• It is a regional multilateral financial institution which focuses on the countries of Asia and Pacific region.

• It was set up after a resolution was passed at the first Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in 1963.

• It started functioning from 19 December 1966 with 31 member countries.

• At present it has 68 members—of which 49 members are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.

• Japan is the largest shareholder of the ADB and a Japanese has always been the head of the ADB.

• President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa 

• Headquarters: Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines