The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) earlier this week signed an agreement to accelerate the flow of public and private finance into sustainable infrastructure in Southeast Asia through an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hub for the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP).

SDIP, established at the United Nations Conference on Financing for Development in July 2015 in Addis Ababa and hosted jointly by WEF and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has adopted a regional approach and founded the SDIP ASEAN Hub to mobilize sustainable investments in emerging and developing economies, with the goal of facilitating systemic changes in development financing.

ADB Director General for Southeast Asia Mr. Ramesh Subramaniam said: “As Southeast Asia faces a huge financing gap in sustainable infrastructure, it is vital to expand the use of private capital funds, which can also bring advanced technologies and management efficiencies to development financing. In particular, we need to accelerate the use of public and private financing to build climate-resilient infrastructure and provide equitable and environmentally and financially sustainable growth that the region needs.”