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.