Asia and Pacific region must build shared resilience: ADB President

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda on Monday urged Asia and the Pacific region to ‘act together to develop together’ through stronger cross-border connections that drive resilience and inclusive growth.

“The decisions we make at this new crossroads will secure the future for the next generation,” Kanda said at the inaugural session of ADB’s 59th Annual Meeting here.

“In this fragmented world, traditional and isolated development responses will fail. To survive and thrive in this new era, we must build deeply connected and resilient systems,” he said.

He underscored how shocks today travel rapidly across borders — through energy markets, supply chains, and digital networks — hitting communities that are least able to absorb them.

Addressing these challenges requires coordinated regional solutions that go beyond national boundaries, he said.

ADB is responding by scaling up investments and accelerating reforms that enable countries to integrate infrastructure, markets, and institutions across Asia and the Pacific. Last year, the bank provided USD 29.3 billion in financial support to the region, while implementing reforms that enable it to deliver assistance more quickly and at scale.

On Sunday, ADB launched a USD 70-billion programme to build regional systems that will strengthen shared security and resilience in Asia and the Pacific.

This includes a USD 50-billion initiative to build a pan-Asia power grid, which aims to integrate renewable energy across borders, enhance energy security, and lower emissions; and a USD 20-billion initiative designed to expand cross-border digital connectivity and close the region’s digital divide.

ADB has moved decisively to provide crisis response for its members during the ongoing Middle East conflict, becoming the first development partner to offer financial support for affected countries, which are expected to face further heightened economic pressures, he said.

The bank projects growth in developing Asia and the Pacific to slow to 4.7 per cent this year from 5.4 per cent last year, while inflation is expected to accelerate to 5.2 per cent from 3.0 per cent, as prolonged disruptions from the conflict raise energy prices, tighten financial conditions, and weigh on economic activity across the region.

Under an even more severe downside scenario of renewed conflict escalation, in which oil prices spike in May 2026 and remain even higher, growth in developing Asia and the Pacific could slow to 4.2 per cent this year and 4 per cent next year, while inflation could reach 7.4 per cent in 2026.

Kanda described ADB as ‘an anchor of stability’ uniquely positioned to help steer the region through a time of geopolitical fragmentation, the devastating impacts of conflict, deep economic disruptions, and escalating environmental stress.

But ADB’s work is far from finished, he said, adding that the bank will leverage its unmatched regional mandate, unique operational capabilities, and ability to act as financier, advisor, and mobiliser to address challenges like harnessing private sector funds for development and reversing environmental degradation.

“The work ahead is immense, but our purpose is clear. We have the strategy. We have the resources. We have the collective will to execute,” he said.