ADB promises all help to member countries to combat impact of COVID-19

Multilateral lending institution Asian Development Board (ADB) on Friday promised to extend all help to member countries to combat the impact of COVID-19 pandemic as its board approved financial statements through the first-ever virtual annual meeting at Manila.

"Our immediate priority is to provide vital support to developing member countries as they confront the COVID-19 pandemic and return their economies to a path of sustainable growth," said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa in his remarks to the meeting.

The approval to financial statements and allocation of its 2019 net income came at the first stage of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the ADB.

 

The second stage of the Annual Meeting, including seminars with governors and other senior government officials, members of the private sector, representatives of international organizations and civil society organizations, youth, academia, and the media, is scheduled for 1821 September 2020 in Incheon, Korea.

ADB has been supporting its members as they address the effects of COVID-19 through its USD 20 billion response package which was announced on April 13, 2020.

ADB has also adopted a series of measures to streamline its operations for quicker and more flexible delivery of assistance.

"Our choices and efforts today will determine whether we can overcome the current health care and economic crises," said the Chair of the Board of Governors, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of the Korea Hong Nam-Ki.

"The ADB should turn this crisis into an opportunity, while enhancing knowledge sharing on COVID-19 policy responses and expanding support for low-income countries and vulnerable groups," the Korean Minister said.

The Board of Governors adopted a resolution to allocate USD 1.069 billion of net income, the highest in the bank's history, from ADB's 2019 ordinary capital resources.

The 2019 net allocable income is higher than the USD 841.4 million recorded in 2018, largely due to an increase in income from lending operations and liquidity investments, as well as a drop in non-sovereign loan loss provisions.