Asian Development Fund XI

The ADF XI negotiations concluded on 30 April 2012 with a total replenishment of SDR 7.9 billion ($12.4 billion) to provide critical financial support to fight poverty in the Asia and Pacific region over the period 2013 to 2016. This replenishment represents an increase of 11.1% in SDR (9.5% in USD terms) over ADF X.

The key mandate for the ADB and ADF under ADF XI will be to reduce poverty in the Asia-Pacific region through Strategy 2020’s three complementary development agendas: (i) inclusive economic growth, (ii) environmentally sustainable growth, and (iii) regional integration. ADF XI will also mainstream Strategy 2020’s five core areas of operations: infrastructure, finance sector development, education, environment, and regional cooperation and integration.

Within this strategic context, ADB will also focus on the issue of food security in response to rising food price inflation and its potential impact on efforts to reduce poverty in ADF countries.

Donors also agreed to give special consideration to fragile and conflict-affected situations and gender issues. They reconfirmed the importance of development effectiveness as a central underlying theme of the ADF XI negotiations.

ADF XI Replenishment Meetings

First Meeting, Manila, 8-9 September 2011

Donor representatives, participants from selected ADF recipient countries, ADB Management including President Haruhiko Kuroda, and ADB senior staff met in Manila, Philippines on 8-9 September 2011 to start discussions on the tenth replenishment of the Asian Development Fund (ADF XI). Members of the ADB Board of Directors and representatives from other development institutions also attended the meeting as observers.

The meeting discussed ADF XI role and priorities, development effectiveness, food security, fragile and conflict-affected situations, preparing for and responding to crises, climate change, financing issues, selected issues under the performance-based allocation system, and planning for the next replenishment meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Mme. Huguette Labelle, Chair of the Board of Directors, Transparency International.

• Opening Remarks by President Haruhiko Kuroda
• Closing Remarks of President Haruhiko Kuroda
• Chair's Summary
• Delivering Results through the ADF
• ADF XI Role and Priorities
• Asian Development Fund Operations and Food Security
• ADB Engagement in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations
• Preparing for and Responding to Crises
• Operations for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation
• ADF's Performance-Based Allocation System: Policy Implementation and Key Issues for ADF XI

Second Meeting, Dhaka, 5-6 December 2011

Donor representatives, participants from selected ADF recipient countries, ADB Management, and senior staff met in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 5-6 December 2011 to continue discussions on the ADF XI replenishment. ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda opened the meeting. Bangladesh Finance Minister and ADB Governor Abul Maal A. Muhith welcomed the participants and gave a presentation on ADF's role in Bangladesh. The meeting was chaired by Mme. Huguette Labelle.

Discussions focused on the Independent Evaluation Department's evaluation studies of the ADF, inclusive growth, gender equality and women's empowerment, the demand for ADF XI assistance and TASF replenishment, preliminary financing scenarios, ADF operations in Afghanistan, the role of private sector development and operations in ADF countries, enhancing the ADF's disaster response capacity, and procurement liberalization. Field visits to selected ADF projects in and around Dhaka were organized on 4 December 2011.

• Opening Remarks by President Haruhiko Kuroda
• Closing Remarks of President Haruhiko Kuroda
• Chair's Summary
• Reforming ADB for a More Effective ADF
• Supporting ADF Countries Achieve Inclusive Growth
• Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
• Demand for ADF XI Assistance
• Fifth Replenishment of Technical Assistance Special Fund
• ADB Assistance Program in Afghanistan: Outputs and Outcomes
• Private Sector Development and Private Sector Operations in ADF Countries
• Disaster Risk Management and Disaster Response Assistance in ADF Countries
• Review of Member Country Procurement Eligibility Restrictions at the Asian Development Bank
• Special Evaluation Study on the Asian Development Fund Operations: A Decade of Supporting Poverty Reduction in the Asia and Pacific Region
• Management Response to IED Report: Special Evaluation Study on the Asian Development Fund Operations - A Decade of Supporting Poverty Reduction in the Asia and Pacific Region
• Special Evaluation Study on Managing for Development Results
• Management Response to IED Report: Special Evaluation Study on Managing for Development Results

Third Meeting, Manila, 7-9 March 2012

Donor representatives, participants from selected ADF recipient countries, ADB Management, and ADB senior staff met in Manila, Philippines on 7-9 March 2012 to continue discussions on the ADF XI replenishment. ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda opened the meeting. Members of the ADB Board of Directors and representatives from other development institutions also attended the meeting as observers. The meeting was chaired by Mme. Huguette Labelle.

Discussions focused on ADB's reform agenda during the ADF XI period; review of the results framework; governance in ADF countries; and remaining key issues on post-conflict phaseout for Afghanistan, proposed Disaster Response Facility, and procurement liberalization. The meeting also discussed ADF XI financial issues.

• Opening Remarks by President Haruhiko Kuroda
• Closing Remarks by President Haruhiko Kuroda
• Chair's Summary
• Transforming ADB: Next Steps on Reforms
• Review of the Results Framework
• Governance in ADF Countries
• Post-Conflict Assistance to Afghanistan
• Note on a Proposed Disaster Response Facility
• Possible Introduction of Blanket Waiver of Member Country Procurement Eligibility Restrictions for Cofinanced Operations
• ADB's Capacity to Respond to Economic Crises

The ADF donors and the ADB would like to thank all civil society organizations (CSOs) who commented on the draft ADF XI Donors' Report, which are valuable inputs to the ADF XI replenishment process. Comments were posted on the ADF website and provided to the ADF donors for their consideration prior to the third ADF XI replenishment meeting. The Donors' Report was extensively discussed with the donors during the meeting and summarizes the issues discussed and agreements reached with the donors. In many cases, comments were in line with donors’ views or were endorsed by donors, and have been reflected in the Donors' Report. Some useful suggestions could not be incorporated in the Donors' Report as they were related to topics that the donors did not discuss with the ADB, or were beyond the scope of the ADF replenishment. There are also comments that could not be directly reflected in the Donors' Report due to space constraints. However, more detailed information addressing relevant comments can be found in various discussion and background papers prepared for the ADF XI replenishment. Where relevant, references to these reports have been provided in the Donors' Report. These papers are available from this website. A number of detailed suggestions and comments were also shared with lead staff in the respective areas within the ADB.

Some of the changes made to the Donors' Report were as follows:

• Challenges faced by DMCs: (Comments focused on weak governance and resource degradation as additional challenges particularly relevant to DMCs that need more attention). Weak governance has been highlighted in the report as a separate challenge (para. 6), while resource degradation is one aspect of vulnerability underlying the ADF XI strategic agenda, with its focus on environmentally sustainable growth and food security. Environmental degradation has been highlighted in para. 32.
• Achieving results: (Comments focused on outcomes as the focus when discussing results, as outputs often do not result in desired outcomes because of missing links. Reporting on disaggregated results would be useful in showing how different socially excluded groups overlap). Reporting on outcomes achieved from past operations has been strengthened in the report (paras. 16-18). The ongoing review of the ADB and ADF Results Framework also proposes to focus on more detailed analysis of disaggregated data, and will examine ways to better capture performance on operational outcomes (paras. 79-80).
• Strategic agenda:
  • Inclusive growth. (Queries and comments pertained to the way in which inclusive growth will be achieved, an overemphasis on economic growth and the recommendations to develop broader non-income aspects and measures of development, as well as mainstreaming disability in ADB operations). Paras. 25-30 have been strengthened to further clarify ADB’s approach to inclusive growth, with a better balance with the emphasis on economic growth. The ADB and ADF results framework, discussed in paras. 78-80, measures ADB’s performance by a wide range of development indicators. Disability has been recognized in para. 25 along with other factors in identifying disadvantaged groups.
  • Environmental sustainability. (Various detailed comments and suggestions were provided). The section on environmental sustainability was further strengthened (paras. 31-35).
  • Fragility. (Comments focused on the sustainability of operations in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS), and the distinguishing features of ADB’s operational strategy in FCAS). ADB’s approach to fragile situations, including special attention for sustaining long-term commitments in FCAS, has been highlighted in para 45 of the paper, as well as the discussion paper footnoted in footnote 35.
  • Food security. (Comments included the recommendation to include food security and agriculture as part of core operations as well as various detailed suggestions.) The role of agriculture has been highlighted in paras. 25 and 47, while the section on food security was further strengthened, including referencing to the discussion paper in footnote 42 for further details.
  • Private Sector Development and Operations. (Comments pertained to further clarification of ADB’s role in private sector operations). The section on private sector development (paras. 48-50) was further strengthened, clarifying ADB’s involvement in private sector operations and its linkage to public sector operations.
  • Governance. (Comments recommended upscaling operations on good governance). The section on governance (paras. 51-53) has been enhanced with clear operational priorities for ADF XI.
• Partnerships: (Comments pertained to highlighting and strengthening involvement of development partners and CSOs in ADB operations). The importance of partnerships with other development partners and other stakeholders, including CSOs, has been highlighted throughout the report, e.g. in paras 10, 27, 29, 30, and 35.

ADF XI Donors' Report

The ADB Board of Directors adopted in June 2012 the ADF XI Donors' Report: Empowering Asia's Most Vulnerable, which contains the main understanding and recommendations reached at the ADF XI negotiation meetings.

ADF XI Midterm Review

The ADF XI Midterm Review meeting was held in Manila, Philippines on 12-13 November 2014, providing a forum for ADB to report to donors on its progress in implementing ADF operations. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Mike Callaghan with participation from donors, selected ADF recipient countries, and ADB Management and staff.

• Chair's Summary
• Overview of ADF XI at Midterm
• Development Effectiveness of the Asian Development Fund
• Management Response to IED Report: Corporate Evaluation Study on Safeguards Operational Review – ADB Processes, Portfolio, and Financial Intermediaries
• ADB Support in Afghanistan: Achieving Results in a Challenging Environment
• Myanmar: Building the Foundations for Growth
• Asian Development Fund and Infrastructure Sustainability: Building the Capacity for Asset Management
• Thematic Evaluation Study of ADB Support for Enhancing Governance in its Public Sector Operations
• Management Response to Thematic Evaluation Study on ADB Support for Enhancing Governance in its Public Sector Operations
• Thematic Evaluation Study of ADB’s Support for Inclusive Growth
• Management Response to the Thematic Evaluation Study on ADB's Support for Inclusive Growth
• Corporate Evaluation Study of Safeguards Operational Review: ADB Processes, Portfolio, Country Systems, and Financial Intermediaries