2017.04.05 Attendance at the 50th ADB Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Yokohama

Attendance at the 50th ADB Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Yokohama

May 4-7, 2017: It was an honor for the Kabul Delegation including H.E. Dr. Mohammad Mustafa Mastoor, Deputy Minister for Finance & Senior Advisor and Special Representative to H.E. the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; Dr. Bashir Mohabbat, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim; Mr. Bashir Hamdard, First Secretary; and Mr. Asif Agah, Second Secretary- representing the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Japan-; and Mr. Abdul Qahar Khan Momand, Program Coordination Office and Aid Management Directorate for Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan; to attend the 50th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Governors. The event, hosted by the people and Government of Japan, through the Ministry of Finance of Japan, chaired for the ADB by President Mr. Takehiko Nakao was held on 4–7 May 2017 at the Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan, and was themed “Building Together the Prosperity of Asia.”

Starting with the first Meeting in Tokyo following the ADB’s founding in 1966, the ADB Annual Meeting has been held in Japan every 10 years. This year’s event took place over the course of four days during the host country Japan’s Golden Week. It was attended by approximately 6,000 persons, including finance ministers from each representative country, central bank presidents, private-sector financial institution representatives, NGO representatives, members of the press and other distinguished guests and included presentations on loans, collaborative development projects and so forth by representatives from each country; business sessions; bilateral meetings; official reception events; various seminars and symposia; etc. In his opening remarks, president of the ADB, Mr. Takehiko Nakao welcomed all present for the important events and hoped that much leeway would be made over the next few days. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan, Naruhito gave an address during the Opening Session of the Board of Governors.

At both the SAARC Informal Finance Ministers’ Meeting and at the First Business Session, H.E. Deputy Minister Dr. Mastoor gave remarks. He thanked not only the host country but also the ADB for its assistance in Afghan development over the years to help further Afghanistan along to becoming an accountable, functioning, and increasingly sustainable state. He additionally thanked the international development partners who pledged continued support to Afghanistan at the Warsaw and Brussels conferences. He noted the developments made in the private sector, regional projects’ faster implementation, and CAREC strategy review, asking those present and the ADB to further support the above areas.

Over the course of the event, H.E. Deputy Minister Dr. Mastoor, Dr. Mohabbat, Mr. Hamdard, Mr. Agah, and Mr. Momand attended several presentations, lectures, and bilateral meetings with JICA, the United States of America, the European Union, Pakistan, India, the United Kingdom, the President of ADB Mr. Nakao, the Parliamentary Vice Minister for Finance of Japan H.E. Mr. Toru Miki, Governor of the Bank of Japan and former President of the ADB Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, as well as several other representatives from different departments of the ADB. Proper diplomatic greetings were exchanged and many topics of mutual interest were discussed in all of the bilateral meetings.

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