The Asian Development Bank will hold the 57th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors from May 2-5 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The meeting will be jointly organised with the Government of Georgia and hosted for the first time in Georgia’s historical capital city of Tbilisi. Given Tbilisi’s location at a crossroads between east and west,
this year’s overall theme for the event, “Bridge to the Future,” is particularly apt. It reflects the interlinkage between Asia and Europe, exploring the physical, financial, and economic connections now and for the future.
The annual meetings provide a venue for ADB’s Governors to review the bank’s performance and set-out guidance on its operational, administrative, and financial directions. ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa will give an update on the bank’s operations and set out his vision for the organisation.
They also present an important opportunity for officials from ADB’s members to interact with our Management and staff, as well as the media, civil society, academe, and the private sector.
As we at ADB strive to build our operations as the region’s climate bank, high on our agenda will be the continuing fight against climate change, heat waves, floods, and other frequent disasters.
This year’s Annual Meeting will feature a full program of seminars and events. Among the topics are managing the macro-financial impacts of decarbonisation, pursuing change in support of climate outcomes, and women’s resilience to heat stress in a warming world. Other cutting edge topics include unlocking AI’s potential in the region, digital finance, and green transport.
There will be a special session examining ADB’s progress in the multilateral development bank (MDB) evolution. We will discuss how ADB is transforming itself to scale up financing for global public goods, including for climate action, and how we can best respond to our shareholders’ calls for MDBs to become ‘better, bolder, and bigger.’
Other events will discuss pressing topics such as food security, safeguards, and regional cooperation. The ADB Annual Meeting also provides a showcase for the achievements, experiences, development progress, and the culture of our host country, Georgia.
