Online Desk:  Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali had a bilateral meeting with President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors Masatsugu Asakawa on Thursday.

In the meeting held on the sidelines of the 57th annual meeting of the Manila-based ADB, they discussed issues of mutual interest and reviewed the growing cooperation between Bangladesh and the multilateral development bank.

ADB has been a major source of external assistance to Bangladesh, providing an average of $2 billion per year since 2016.

ADB assistance is aligned with Bangladesh’s Eighth Five-Year Plan, 2021–2025, and Perspective Plan, 2021–2041.

To date, ADB has committed 726 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $31.8 billion to Bangladesh.

ADB’s current sovereign portfolio in Bangladesh includes 75 loans and 4 grants worth $13 billion.

ADB President Masa Asakawa took a tour of the venues of the 57th annual meeting, which was opened in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Over the next few days, meeting delegates will discuss the key issues shaping Asia and the Pacific – including climate change, artificial intelligence, and green globalization – and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

The Bangladesh finance minister, who arrived here on May 1, will have a series of meetings during his stay in Georgia.

On Friday, he will have a bilateral meeting with the US delegation.

Minister Ali will also have a meeting with ADB Vice President (Region-1) Yingming Yang.

He will join ADB President’s reception on Friday evening.

The Finance Minister is scheduled to leave Tbilisi on Monday morning.