SOHEL PARVEZ, from Samarkand

The 59th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) opened yesterday, with its President Masato Kanda urging countries in Asia and the Pacific to “act together to develop together” through stronger cross-border connections to secure the next generation’s future.

“The decisions we make at this new crossroads will secure the future for the next generation,” he told the opening session in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

“In this fragmented world, traditional and isolated development responses will fail. To survive and thrive in this new era, we must build deeply connected and resilient systems,” he said.

More than 4,000 participants, including policymakers, private sector leaders, development partners, and innovators from over 100 countries, are attending the meeting under the theme “Crossroads of Progress: Advancing the Region’s Connected Future.”

From Bangladesh, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Economic Relations Division Secretary Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, and senior officials are participating in the event.

Kanda highlighted how shocks now travel rapidly across borders -- through energy markets, supply chains, and digital networks -- hitting communities least able to absorb them. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated regional solutions that go beyond national boundaries, he said.

The ADB is responding by scaling up investments