ADB mobilises $ 4 b emergency funding for 15 countries, including Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka was first to receive additional support with $ 100 m

Sri Lanka is among 15 countries that have formally sought financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to mitigate the economic fallout from the ongoing Middle East conflict, as the multilateral lender announced a $ 4 billion support package to help affected economies manage rising energy costs, trade disruptions and broader external pressures.

The ADB is acting quickly and decisively with $ 4 billion in financing to help countries withstand the impact of the Middle East conflict, including about $ 3 billion requested by governments and $ 1 billion provided as trade finance for energy and food imports.

“ADB is acting with speed and scale to support countries experiencing a range of impacts from the Middle East conflict, including pressure on finances, remittances, tourism, and fuel and fertiliser supplies,” said ADB President Masato Kanda. “At this time of acute uncertainty and risk, we are deploying our full suite of crisis response instruments—including budget support, trade finance, and a new mechanism to rapidly repurpose existing portfolio funds—to deliver the tailored and timely support our members, from large to small, need to safeguard their economies and communities.”

ADB has received formal requests for support from 15 affected governments across the region, including previously announced requests from Bangladesh, Fiji, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. The requests, which follow a financial support package announced by ADB in late March, range in size from $15 million to $1.5 billion and include policy-based loans, countercyclical financing, rapid repurposing of existing sovereign portfolio funds, and emergency assistance loans. ADB is in discussions with an additional 4 countries facing continued impacts on their economies.

In late March, the ADB said it was ready to provide Sri Lanka $100 million in additional Budget support as part of a financial package to help countries mitigate the economic and financial impacts resulting from the conflict in the Middle East. Sri Lanka is the first member to formally request such assistance. This proposal increases ADB’s total planned budget support in Sri Lanka for 2026 to $ 480 million.

The Government of India has requested $ 1.5 billion in ADB financing to build and accelerate resilience and to sustain reform-based urban transformation and clean energy objectives. The proposed assistance includes a $ 1 billion policy-based loan under the Urban Transformation and Investment Program to sustain momentum in urban infrastructure investment and reforms, and $ 500 million under the Accelerating Affordable and Inclusive Rooftop Solar Systems Development Program to expand clean energy access, reduce dependence on imported fuels, strengthen domestic manufacturing, install battery energy storage systems, promote circular economy initiatives, and enhance long-term energy security.

Complementing this sovereign assistance, ADB has reactivated support for oil imports under its Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) on an exceptional basis for a limited period to soften the impact of rising oil prices and supply chain disruptions. Since 1 March, ADB’s TSCFP has delivered $ 673 million to support oil and gas imports and $ 390 million for food security across 9 countries, helping maintain access to essential supplies amid global market disruptions. Trade finance support to the Cook Islands is also expected to commence soon as part of ADB’s broader support for vulnerable small island developing states.

ADB also stands ready to support Vanuatu through its Rapid Resource Reprogramming and Deployment Option (3RDO), a new financing mechanism that enables swift repurposing of ADB portfolio funds to support immediate relief and early recovery actions. The government has expressed strong interest in operationalising the 3RDO, not only to meet immediate financing needs arising from the current fuel crisis but also to establish a readily available contingency mechanism that can be activated in response to future crises.