Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Post

Donors and ADB have agreed to a $5 billion replenishment of the Asian Development Fund 14. The replenishment marks the largest ever commitment to ADF’s grant operations. It demonstrates ADF donors’ continued partnership with ADB to address the pressing development challenges of those most in need. ADF 14 will play a pivotal role in transforming lives in Asia and the Pacific’s most vulnerable countries. According to President Masa, “Grants are more important than ever as our poorest and most vulnerable members seek to reverse recent development setbacks and take urgent action to combat the climate crisis. This remarkable replenishment demonstrates ADF donors’ continued partnership with ADB to address the pressing development challenges of those most in need.” There are several key features to ADF 14: 🤝 Support for the vulnerable. ADF 14 prioritizes small island developing states, which are among the most vulnerable, especially to climate change. 🚀 Transformational agenda. ADF 14 focuses on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, promoting gender equality, and driving forward regional cooperation and integration. 🌏 Responsive assistance. ADF 14 remains ready to respond to disasters, health emergencies, and large cross-border displacements in a flexible manner. 🙏 Crisis support. ADF provides essential support to the people of Afghanistan and Myanmar to focus on their basic needs.  ADF remains a powerful tool for change. The generous backing from our donors not only fuels our ADF 14 initiatives but fosters a spirit of international cooperation that is crucial in times of global crises.

Concessional finance is becoming increasingly important as countries' needs for funding grow and financing options become more limited. Much attention has been focused on preparing and negotiating the IDA replenishment this year. However, the replenishment of the Asian Development Fund completed last week may not have been on many people's radar. The fund has reached the milestone of $5 billion, which represents a 22% increase in grant volume compared to the previous four-year cycle. This is a grant-financing facility for many small-island developing states and fragile countries in the region and it also supports transformative projects in poorer economies in Asia Pacific. Half of its funding comes from donor contributions, with more than a third generated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Bank's lending activities to its borrowing countries.   

The Asian Development Fund is ADB’s largest source of grants for operations in most vulnerable developing member countries and is replenished every four years. At the #ADBAnnualMeeting in Tbilisi, donors agreed to a replenishment of $5 billion to support grant operations during 2025–2028. We sat with Tomo Kimura, ADB Director General of Strategy, Policy and Partnership, to discuss how the Fund is evolving and how it can drive sustainable development across Asia and the Pacific: https://ow.ly/l25350RA388

The brutal war in #Sudan has led to soaring hunger and acute food insecurity for millions of people. Despite generous donor support, however, huge funding gaps remain. Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) Joyce Msuya has allocated $25 million from the United Nations OCHA-managed Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to tackle the spread of famine, noting: "I hope this will encourage our donor partners to step up with additional flexible funding for Sudan, including through these crucial pooled funds, so that we can continue to scale up the urgent response." Together, we #InvestInHumanity

Last week The ONE Campaign was out in force at the African Development Bank Group annual meetings. We had some important wins: 👉 $117 billion of callable capital to preserve its lending capacity increasing the Bank’s authorized capital from $201 billion to $318 billion. 👉 President Ruto reiterated his call for an ambitious replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-17), targeting $25 billion (nearly triple ADF-16's $8.9 billion). 👉 Kenya, as the host nation, made a significant pledge of $20 million to the ADF-17 as a first-time donor. 👉 The AfDB committed to supporting the re-evaluation of African countries’ GDP by incorporating natural capital considerations. Read more here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eEDNPPMq

EU designates targets for financing Hamas & PIJ The EU has designated 6 individuals and 3 entities for their alleged roles in financing Hamas and PIJ: Zawaya Group, Larrycom for Investment, and Al Zawaya Group, which have been linked by the EU to Hamas’s investment portfolio; Jamil Yusuf Ahmad Aliyan, who the EU says is a PIJ official that provides financial support to families of PIJ prisoners; Ahmed Sharif Abdallah Odeh, Zuheir Shamlakh, and Ismail Barhoum who are allegedly financial facilitators for Hamas through investment, money exchange, and charities; and Ali Morshed Shirazi, an IRGC official, and Maher Rebhi Obeid, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau. #Russia #EUCommission #ExportControl #TradeWar #TSECS #SanctionsUpdate #TurkishSociety #Sanctions #USA #OFAC #BIS #TradeUpdates #GlobalTrade #TradeCompliance #InternationalRelations #EconomicSanctions #TradeRegulations #TurkishExports #TradePolicy #SecurityMatters #ForeignPolicy #ComplianceNews #EconomicSecurity #CrossBorderBusiness

The #CGDev research team have written another brilliant paper on the outlook for 2024-25 MDB Replenishment. It is expected that 12 entities including the "Loss & Damage" Fund will be aiming to raise over US 100 Billion over 2 years. The paper provides visuals on upcoming elections in donor countries, MDB replenishment timelines and funding levels per agency. With Africa having the largest number of LICs, it is telling that the ADF, the concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group is smaller than the IDA, GCF and Global Fund, and almost at par with the GEF and GPE. The pool of funding is likely to shrink further with the addition of new funds like the "Loss & Damage" Fund - leading to even further fragmentation. With regard to new donors, Saudi Arabia and UAE are exerting more weight as well as South Korea. Read on...

Somalia's Domestic revenue has increased proportionally over the last few years; however, it has never kept pace with external grants. Despite domestic revenue recording considerable progress in 2023 and is predicted to hit $324 million at the end of the year instead of $283 million reported in the supplementary budget. As illustrated in the graph below, reliance on foreign donations has increased significantly over the last three years in comparison to local revenue growth. The government's steadily rising spending and ongoing reliance on foreign assistance could be cause for concern.  #somalia #FGS #2024budget #barsanassociates

Humanitarian diplomacy is needed. The need for peace in Sudan is more urgent than ever before. Our beloved country faces ongoing conflicts, humanitarian crises, economic challenges, and the need for development and growth. It is time for all stakeholders, including the international community, to work together jointly to achieve a lasting peace in Sudan.