New Delhi, Dec 12, 2024: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and India’s National Bank for Financing Infrastructure Development (NaBFID) have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to enhance their collaboration in financing the country’s infrastructure sector.
ADB Sector Group Director General Ramesh Subramaniam and NaBFID Managing Director Rajkiran Rai G signed the LOI in Manila on December 5 which aims to promote climate resilience and support the improvement of urban and rural infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and public and private investment. ADB Executive Director for India Vikas Sheel, ADB Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury, and ADB Country Director for India Mio Oka witnessed the LOI signing.
ADB will also provide NaBFID a technical assistance grant to enhance its capacity and build climate finance capability to address the huge requirement of funding for bridging India’s infrastructure financing gap. Other support will be lines of credit through ADB-facilitated private sector investments to help cofinance and transform urban infrastructure and innovative projects that drive sustainable and inclusive growth in India.
“The partnership with NaBFID builds on ADB’s longstanding work in India to transform urban infrastructure and drive sustainable and inclusive growth,” said Subramaniam. “We are proud to support NaBFID in unlocking diverse and innovative sources of funding and look forward to growing our collaboration in attracting blended finance to India,” he said.
ADB and NaBFID also co-hosted a seminar highlighting the importance of infrastructure financing for resilient and sustainable growth. The discussions focused on bridging the infrastructure financing gap and exploring midterm and long-term collaboration opportunities. Rai delivered the keynote address and speakers included Philippine Department of Finance Undersecretary Catherine Fong, NaBFID Deputy Managing Director B S Venkatesha, ADB Director Mayank Choudhary, and ADB Principal Financial Sector Specialist Sanjeev Kaushik.
Technical bilateral meetings were held on December 5-6 to explore further collaborations and enhance knowledge sharing for sustainable development.
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