On CSO Participation and Safety Considerations for ADB Annual Meeting 2026

April 10, 2026

Mr. Masato Kanda

President

Asian Development Bank

Dear Pres. Kanda,

Good day.

We are writing to express our concerns regarding our civil society network’s participation in the upcoming Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In light of the current Middle East conflict and the risks associated with travel, we, as NGO Forum on ADB have decided to join the annual meeting through a hybrid format of both online and onsite participation with a clear agenda to minimise the risk associated with international travel for our members and staff.

We note with concern the ADB’s command decision to still proceed with the Annual Meeting in Uzbekistan despite the ongoing conflict, which has impacted airport connectivity, raised ticket prices, and created general uncertainty amid sudden shifts in the geopolitical landscape. We consider this decision to proceed with the meeting in Uzbekistan to be ‘high risk’ and it directly jeopardises the safety of not only civil society members but also ADB staff, as well as all delegates and guests travelling internationally to the meeting. Mr President, we, as the NGO Forum on ADB, urge your office and the senior management of the ADB to reconsider and shift the Annual Meeting away from Uzbekistan to a safer, more accessible location.

In the event the ADB continues with its current plans, on behalf of civil society groups and affected communities, we strongly recommend the ADB to take concrete steps to ensure full, meaningful and secure online participation for civil society organisations (CSOs), especially in key sessions relevant to CSOs and affected communities. This should include ensuring interpretation and translation in major languages to enable broader participation. These include—

• CSO-led sessions - 

  • Structural challenges to safeguards implementation and accountability mechanism operations at ADB

  • ADB’s Commitment to a Just Transition and Paris Alignment

• Dialogue Between ADB’s Independent Evaluation Department and Civil Society Organisations

• Meeting between Civil Society Organizations and ADB Senior Management

These sessions are critical spaces for engagement, accountability, and dialogue with communities affected by ADB-supported projects. Ensuring accessible online participation at convenient times is essential to uphold ADB’s commitments to transparency, inclusiveness, and stakeholder engagement. At the same time, given the hybrid format, it is equally important to ensure the safety of on-site CSO participants—particularly those from the region—through clear precautionary measures and comprehensive emergency and security plans that go beyond standard venue access controls.

ADB has demonstrated during the COVID-19 period that such hybrid arrangements are both feasible and effective. Given the present circumstances, it is both reasonable and necessary to ensure that these measures are in place so that no stakeholder is excluded.

We hope the ADB will consider all our recommendations with utmost sincerity and take the necessary decisions and steps to ensure safe, inclusive, and meaningful participation for all stakeholders and guests in this year’s ADB Annual Governors Meeting.

Respectfully,

Rayyan Hassan

Executive Director

NGO Forum on ADB

Cc:

Vice-President (Administration and Corporate Management)

Director General, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department (CCSD)

Senior Director, Energy Sector Office

Head, Office of Safeguards

Director General, Independent Evaluation Department

Chair, Compliance Review Panel (CRP), Office of the (OCRP)

Special Project Facilitator

Head, NGO and Civil Society Center

ALL Executive Director

ALL Alternate Executive Director

ENDORSED BY - 

AbibiNsroma Foundation, Ghana

Aksi! for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice, Indonesia

Alternative Law Collective, Pakistan

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Philippines

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Asia (Regional)

Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Regional

Bangladesh Food Security Network (KHANI), Bangladesh

Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED), Bangladesh

Bank Climate Advocates, United States

Centre for Community Mobilization and Support NGO, Armenia

Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), Sri Lanka

CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network), Bangladesh

Community Empowerment and Social Justice (CEMSOJ) Network, Nepal

Community Resource Centre, Thailand

Eco-Coalition Armenia, Armenia

Equitable Cambodia, Cambodia

External Aid Monitoring Group, Kyrgyzstan

Forum on Ecology and Development (FED), Bangladesh

Freedom from Debt Coalition, Philippines

Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Asia-Pacific

Growthwatch, India

Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), India

Indus Consrtium, Pakistan

Inisiasi Masyarakat Adat (IMA), Indonesia

Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES), Japan

Jubilee Australia Research Centre, Australia

Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Kazakhstan

Mekong Watch, Japan

Nash Vek Public Foundation, Kyrgyzstan

Oyu Tolgoi Watch, Mongolia

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan

Participatory Research and Action Network (PRAAN), Bangladesh

Peace Point Development Foundation (PPDF), Nigeria

Quest for Growth and Development Foundation, Nigeria

Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific, Philippines

Recourse, The Netherlands

Rivers & Rights, Southeast Asia (Regional)

Rivers without Boundaries, Mongolia

South Asia Just Transition Alliance (SAJTA), Bangladesh

The Bretton Woods Project, United Kingdom

Trend Asia, Indonesia

Urgewald, Germany

Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, Germany

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CSO Participation in the ADB Annual Meeting 2026.pdf

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