The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Thursday the election of Haruhiko Kuroda, a special adviser of Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, as its new president. The Manila-based ADB said Kuroda, 60, has been unanimously elected by the bank's board of governors to succeed incumbent president Tadao Chino who announced his resignation in August. Kuroda will take over the ADB presidency on February 1, 2005. "It is a great honour to be elected president of the ADB," said Kuroda in a statement. "I am determined that the bank should remain flexible in its approach to the many challenges facing its developing member countries." "ADB must also continue to strive for greater effectiveness in its operations," he added. Kuroda served as Japan's former Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs and helped design and implement a 30 billion dollars package to help Asian economies badly hit by the 1997 financial crisis After his retirement in 2003, Kuroda was immediately appointed by Koizumi as adviser on international monetary issues.
