The ADB’s Annual Board of Governors’ meeting was held May 3-4 in Tashkent, the first time it has been held in Central Asia. Participants including finance ministers, leaders of central banks, senior government officials, business people, academics and representatives of civil society organizations came to Tashkent for the meetings. Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov gave opening remarks May 3.

The US delegation was led by Marisa Lago, the Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development. Curtis Chin, the US Executive Director at the ADB, was also part of the delegation.

Along with participating in the meetings, members of the US delegation visited schools and other projects supported by ADB loans and learned about various economic and trade initiatives in Uzbekistan, such as the expansion of the Navoi International Airport into a cargo hub. They also met with diplomats and finance officials from across the region to discuss issues ranging from upcoming Trade and Investment Framework negotiations to expanding infrastructure to better integrate Afghanistan with the nations of Central Asia.

The United States, after Japan, is the second largest stakeholder in the ADB. The US holds a 15.57 percent stake of shares and 12.75 percent of its voting rights. The ADB, with the support of its 67 member nations, provided about US$16 billion in financing of economic development projects in 2009.

The Asian Development Bank, based in Manila, Philippines, was founded in 1966 to provide financing for mostly public-sector development projects aimed at reducing poverty and improving the livelihood of the people of Asia. Most of its loans, many of which are offered at low interest rates to developing nations, go to infrastructure improvements, regional integration, finance sector and education projects.