Asian Development Bank (ADB)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1966. It aims to eradicate extreme poverty and foster inclusive, sustainable and resilient growth in the Asia and Pacific region by providing loans, grants, equity investments and technical assistance to its member countries. It facilitates policy dialogue, offers advisory services and mobilises financial resources through co-financing operations. Thanks to its AAA credit rating, the Bank is able to borrow at attractive interest rates on global capital markets and can lend to its borrowers at favourable conditions. The ADB is majority-owned by Asian countries.

The ADB includes the following two main entities:

• ADB (founded in 1966) provides sovereign and non-sovereign repayable loans from its ordinary capital resources at concessional loan terms.
• Asian Development Fund (ADF) (founded in 1973) provides grant-based assistance and is the ADB’s main instrument to support the poorest and most fragile member countries.

The ADB is a priority partner under Switzerland’s International Cooperation Strategy 2021-2024 to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in Asia. As a member of a voting group in the governing body of the ADB, Switzerland actively participates in the discussions and decisions of the ADB to fulfil its supervisory role as a shareholder. Switzerland is committed to:

• promoting the Bank’s results-orientation, effectiveness, efficiency and targeted financing of development projects according to the ADB’s core expertise and strategic priorities;
• supporting the Bank’s commitment to develop, improve and comply with international environmental, social and governance standards;
• encouraging the Bank to focus on renewable energy projects and to support its recipient countries’ exit strategies from fossil fuels;
• ensuring an adequate capitalisation and maintaining the ADB’s AAA credit rating. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation jointly determine the positions Switzerland adopts in the ADB. Switzerland’s interests are represented by a Governor appointed by the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research and an Alternate Governor appointed by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

For more information on the collaboration between SDC and ADB, please consult the factsheet: