ADB Partnership with Thailand to Focus on Private Sector-Led Growth and Knowledge Solutions
Manila: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has generally endorsed a new 5-year country partnership strategy (CPS) to help the Government of Thailand achieve its goal of becoming a high-income nation through sustainable economic growth.
Under the 2021–2025 strategy, ADB’s programs and projects will help Thailand recover from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, strengthen sustainable and low-carbon growth, improve physical and digital connectivity, address remaining pockets of inequality, and resolve constraints to private sector expansion. ADB will also share best practices in critical areas such as regional cooperation, climate change, and urbanization, as well as aging and other emerging social issues.
“ADB’s new country partnership strategy was designed to help Thailand achieve prosperity and sustainability through private sector-led growth and knowledge solutions, while promoting regional cooperation and integration to help address the country’s key development challenges,” said ADB’s Director General for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam.
“Thailand is an upper middle-income country with strong banking and capital markets,” said ADB’s Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury. “ADB’s strategy will focus on leveraging these assets by providing value-added financial support and partnership with the private sector that is agile, focused, and substantive.”
The strategy will be supported by a 2021–2023 lending program of five projects totaling $1.58 billion in sectors such as transport and energy. The planned projects will help address pressing issues such as climate change, urbanization, regional cooperation, and gender. ADB also plans to provide $1 million in technical assistance to facilitate knowledge sharing in and out of Thailand, especially with its regional partners through platforms such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ADB-supported Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation program.
As Thailand plans to reboot its economy through inclusive and sustainable economic growth, ADB’s sovereign and private sector operations will work together to deliver knowledge and financing solutions to support Thailand’s recovery from COVID-19, boost competitiveness, and build resilience.
ADB’s sovereign operations will add value to government investment projects by improving safety in transport projects, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in energy projects, and boosting women’s participation. ADB will support the strengthening of institutions through policy advice, capacity building, and other knowledge support for national or subnational development issues, such as waste management, financial inclusion, gender, health, and education.
Financing for private sector operations will target environmental solutions—sustainable energy, transport, waste management and clean water, food safety, household and community resilience, and agricultural development—and social sector investments to meet basic human needs and propel equality and inclusive socioeconomic growth.
To support Thailand’s role in regional development, ADB will implement a Country Knowledge Plan to provide knowledge “in, for, and with Thailand,” including through policy advice, technical assistance, and coordination with other development partners in Thailand.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.