Reconnecting Asia is a new initiative launched by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that maps emerging linkages – roads, railways, and other infrastructure – across the supercontinent of Eurasia. By exploring new patterns of connectivity, the effort seeks to better understand the drivers and implications of Asia’s infrastructure push.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), headquartered in Manila, plays a leading role in fostering inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Last year, its operations reached $31.5 billion including co-financing. According to ADB’s own estimates, developing Asia and the Pacific will require $26 trillion from 2016 to 2030, or $1.7 trillion per year, in infrastructure investment for the region to maintain current levels of economic growth, eradicate poverty and respond to climate change. With those needs in mind, this discussion will highlight solutions for improving connectivity and prosperity in the region.

Closing Keynote:

President Takehiko Nakao
Takehiko Nakao is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office in April 2013. Before joining ADB, Mr. Nakao was the Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance of Japan. In a career spanning, more than three decades, Mr. Nakao has gained extensive experience in international finance and development. He has held senior positions in the Ministry of Finance in Japan, which he joined in 1978, including Director-General of the International Bureau, where he fostered close ties with leading figures in the Asia-Pacific region, and G20 nations. He was assigned as Minister at the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C., between 2005 and 2007, and from 1994 to 1997 served as economist and advisor at the International Monetary Fund. He has published books and numerous papers on financial and economic issues, and in 2010 and 2011 was a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo. Born in 1956, Mr. Nakao holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley.