ADB Chief warns of protectionist moves

May 3, 2019

Nadi, Fiji)-=-Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao on Friday sounded an alarm about protectionist moves around the world.

"I am a firm believer in the multilateral system," Nakao said in his opening address at the ADB's annual meeting in Nadi, Fiji, noting that there has been much discussion lately about the value of multilateralism. "National interests and multilateralism go hand in hand because we need international cooperation and collective action for the interests of people in nation states and the world," he said. Trade tensions "remain a concern," Nakao, former Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs, said, apparently keeping in mind trade friction between the United States and China, the world's biggest and second-biggest economies. "If tensions escalate, they could seriously undermine consumer and investor confidence and weaken growth in the region," he said, adding that maintaining open trade and investment regimes is "key to vibrant and sustainable growth." In this respect, the ongoing efforts by Asian economies to promote new multilateral trade agreements within the region and beyond are "encouraging," Nakao stressed. On the ADB's strategy through 2030, Nakao said that the Manila-based institution will increase syndicated loan projects with private-sector banks and strengthen support for poor and conflict-hit nations in the region. On Friday, ADB members discussed uncertainty over the global economy stemming from the U.S.-China standoff. Jiji Press