Context:- 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.
- 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
Read also: Wassenaar Arrangement
