ADB appoints new Country Director for Turkmenistan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed C. C. Yu as its new Country Director for Turkmenistan, Trend reports referring to the bank.
Yu will lead ADB’s operations in Turkmenistan and take the lead in the implementation of the bank’s Country Partnership Strategy, 2017–2021. The plan aims to help the country become a catalyst for regional cooperation and integration by diversifying its markets and repositioning itself as a trade and transit hub in Central Asia. A strong focus is also on enhancing the country’s transport and energy sectors, as well as support for health, education, and food security, the information reads.
Yu is a Canadian national with a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and has been with ADB since 2000. He has around 25 years of professional experience in results-based management, project and sector evaluation, country development operations, and environmental safeguards.
Prior to his new appointment, Yu worked as a Lead Institutional Coordination Specialist for the bank’s Central and West Asia Department.
In 2012–2017, he was the ADB Director for Tajikistan, and before that he was the chief specialist of the ADB Strategy and Partnership Department.
ADB’s development partnership with Turkmenistan began in 2000. Since then, ADB has supported the country to diversify its economy and increase its regional connectivity. ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty, the information reads.
Established in 1966, the ABD is owned by 68 members—49 of which are from the Asia-Pacific region. The ADB made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion in 2018.