The necessity for a strong Asian Development Bank (ADB) that follows a transformational rather than incremental strategy for sustainable and resilient regional development was reiterated by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.

Highlighting that the world is passing through an age of "resets" - of fuel, food,  debt, fertiliserenergy, supply chain, fiscal stability, sustainability etc, she said "we need a robust Asian Development Bank that adopts a transformational rather than incremental approach for sustainable and resilient regional development." Sitharaman is here to attend the 56th annual meeting of ADB. India is the founding member as well as the fourth largest shareholder of multilateral funding agency founded in 1966 with a vision to foster a prosperous, inclusive sustainable Asia Pacific region.

Speaking at the meeting of board of governors of ADB, she said the theme of the annual meeting, "Rebounding Asia: Recover, Reconnect and Reform", resonates well with the spirit and theme of India's G20 Presidency, "One Earth, One Family, One Future". Both themes signal the need for unity of purpose and collective action to achieve our shared goals and responsibilities, she said. In the post-Covid world, she said, people's aspiration for sustained development finance across developing member countries (DMCs) need ADB's alignment to more resources and operational efficiencies

FM Sitharaman to attend ADB's annual meeting in South Korea today

ADB operations surpass USD 20 billion in 2022