Sitharaman meets ADB chief Masatsugu Asakawa, says India remains key partner

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is currently on a four-day visit to South Korea, had a bilateral meeting with Asian Development Bank (ADB) president Masatsugu Asakawa in Incheon on Tuesday, during which she emphasised that India continues to be the most significant country for the lending agency`s sovereign and non-sovereign operations.

The Union Minister, who arrived in Incheon earlier in the day to attend the annual general meeting of ADB, met Asakawa on the sidelines of the event, official sources said.

Sitharaman also expressed support to ADB for innovative financing mechanisms to enhance the lending capacity of the bank.

She advised ADB to introspect and assess how the bank can effectively support developing member countries.

Sitharaman urged Asakawa to support India with more concessional climate finance, as the country`s economic and developmental progress can have huge positive impact regionally and globally.

Asakawa reiterated ADB`s commitment of providing $100 billion climate finance to its member countries and also thanked India for support to the lender`s innovative finance facility for climate in Asia and the Pacific.