Minister McGrath Announces over €15 million in Funding to Assist Developing Countries in Asia and the Pacific

The Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath T.D., has announced €15.63 million in funding to the Asian Development Fund. The Asian Development Fund is the concessional arm of the Asian Development Bank and provides zero- and low-interest loans and grants to the poorest countries of Asia and the Pacific.

Ireland's contribution, together with contributions from other donor countries and allocations from the Asian Development Bank is expected to deliver an overall support package of more than €4.5 billion over the period 2025 to 2028.

Minister McGrath, who is Ireland's Governor at the Asian Development Bank, commented:

"As Minister for Finance and Ireland's Governor at Asian Development Bank, I am delighted to announce Ireland's contribution to the Asian Development Fund, amounting to €15.63 million.

The Fund provides vital support to the poorest and most vulnerable regional countries, while further emphasising the need to take bold climate action, deepen regional cooperation, and address regional public goods. Our strong support of this replenishment reflects the close alignment between Ireland's international development priorities and the Fund's policy initiatives.

We are confident that the agreed package can help the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the region, particularly small island developing states, and will help curtail and address the impacts of overlapping crises".

Ireland's Asian Development Fund pledge of €15.63 million, which will be paid over 11 years commencing in 2025, will contribute to the Government's commitment to increase development spending to 0.7 per cent of Gross National income by 2030.

ENDS

Note to Editors:

The Asian Development Fund is the concessional arm of the Asian Development Bank. It provides zero- and low-interest loans and grants to the poorest countries in the region. Since the Asian Development Fund was launched in 1974, it has provided more than €70 billion in grants and low-interest loans to over 30 developing countries. Ireland became a member of the Asian Development Bank and Asian Development Fund in 2006.

The Asian Development Fund operates on four-year cycles with the current cycle operating from 2021 to 2024, to which Ireland is contributing €13.6 million.

Since joining the Asian Development Bank, Ireland has committed € 86.75 million in grant contributions to the Asian Development Fund of which € 78.28 million has been paid and a further € 8.47 million will be paid over the period to 2031. Ireland's most recent commitment was for € 13.6 million for the Asian Development Fund's operations from 2021 to 2024. This commitment is being paid over the years 2021 to 2031.

This replenishment of the Asian Development Fund has identified three core thematic objectives the period 2025 to 2028:

(i) fostering regional cooperation and integration, including the provision of regional public goods;

(ii) supporting climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction; and

(iii) achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5's transformative gender agenda.

The Asian Development Fund's objectives are consistent with Ireland's International Development Policy 'A Better World', Ireland's Strategy for Partnership with Small Island Developing States and Ireland's development policy for the Asian Pacific Region, Global Ireland: Renewing our Commitment to Delivering in the Asia Pacific Region to 2025.