Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani attended the 56th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Incheon, South Korea, on Thursday.

"ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Kyung-ho Choo also attended with me," the minister noted through her Instagram account @smindrawati.

At the meeting, the governors, the ADB shareholders, met to underline the importance of ADB extending help to countries grappling to recover their economies after the pandemic.

They also agreed that ADB should use the balance sheet in a more optimal and efficient manner.

The threat of climate change and the manner in which ADB should respond to it also became part of the discussion. Moreover, the economic crisis riddling countries, such as Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, was also discussed.

According to Mulyani, this is a major duty for ADB. Financial support and technical assistance are very meaningful.

Amid the current global challenges, ADB continues to show its extraordinary performance and support toward ASEAN and Indonesia. Indonesia is currently working with ADB in implementing energy transition.

"Indonesia welcomes ADB to become the region's climate bank. Indonesia and ADB during last year's G20 Presidency had also unveiled the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) Country Platform," she noted.

Meanwhile, ADB will play a more significant role in the implementation of energy transition in Southeast Asia. Specifically, this is done by issuing the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (ATSF) Version 2 in March 2023.

To this end, Indonesia, as the chair of this year's ASEAN, will continue to encourage the continuity of the ADB reformation agenda.

"I expect the ADB reformation will continue to bring development in the years to come," she remarked.

"I am optimistic and believe that ADB, with the partnership of all member countries, will be able to execute this reformation agenda," Mulyani added.

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Translator: Agatha Olivia V, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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