BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 4. Italy calls on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) members to finalize the revised Accountability Mechanism Policy by end-2026, Lawrence Bartolomucci, Temporary Alternate Governor from Italy, head of the unit covering international financial institutions at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, said in his statement for the ADB Annual Meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Trend reports.
He pointed out that Italy welcomes ADB’s strategic engagement in emerging sectors.
“The successfully completed Energy Policy Midterm Review opens the possibility for ADB to support its DMCs in new areas through a tailored, pragmatic and flexible approach, by widening the range of energy sources at their disposal and considering their development needs. We look forward to seeing the revised policy in action. Likewise, the new Critical Minerals-to-Manufacturing Value Chains Approach provides ADB with a framework to support DMCs in capturing the benefits of the energy transition through greater diversification and local workforce upskilling. Italy strongly favors the development of new international partnerships on critical minerals, provided that MDBs operate as a coordinated system. This requires close cooperation both within and across institutions, as well as with development finance institutions, to avoid fragmentation and duplications, also by expanding joint project planning and co-financing. In this regard, we welcome the Joint MDB Statement on Critical Minerals to Manufacturing Value Chains which was issued on the sidelines of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. We look forward to the envisioned Joint Collaboration Framework aimed at further strengthening cooperation. Finally, we call on all ADB members to work together to finalize, by the end of this year, a revised Accountability Mechanism Policy upholding the highest international standards,” Bartolomucci added.
He said Italy also encourages ADB to work together with the other MDBs to continue efforts to harmonize procurement standards across institutions, beyond the existing mutual recognition agreements, to promote consistency and the dissemination of best practices, and to better support client countries in the design and implementation of effective national public procurement systems.
