Finance and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek received Asian Development Bank (AKB) President Masato Kanda and his accompanying delegation at the ministry.
In a statement before the meeting, Şimşek said: “As the global economy undergoes radical change, ensuring durability and sustainability in the economy has become more important than ever. Therefore, deepening our cooperation with ADB is strategically important for both parties.”
Pointing out that with the change in status, the public and private sectors can benefit from ADB's financing and technical assistance opportunities, Şimşek said: “Turkey is considered a reliable and preferred development partner in the eyes of multilateral development banks due to its strong project implementation capacity and constructive cooperation approach.”
“We will soon sign a loan agreement as part of the regional connection”
Emphasizing that they are excited to start a new era of cooperation with AKB under a shared vision, Şimşek continued as follows:
“We are pleased to launch the Interim Country Partnership Strategy. This strategy defines the Asian Development Bank's priorities in the areas of financing, technical assistance and policy cooperation in Türkiye and is fully compatible with our development priorities. The strategy will focus on two main areas over the next two years: resilience and regional connectivity. Under the heading of resilience, the Asian Development Bank will support post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction efforts. Within the framework of regional connectivity, the strategy aims to enhance Türkiye's role “The initiative should be pushed forward as a regional center for transport, energy and digital integration as well as to strengthen the Middle Corridor.”
Financial support of $7 billion from the Asian Development Bank in three years
Stating that they welcomed the Asian Development Bank's three-year financing package, which includes $1 billion for this year and $3 billion annually in 2026 and 2027 to support public and private sector projects, Minister Şimşek said, “We will sign the ILBANK earthquake project, our first public project, with AKB. The long-term financing provided by the bank will be transferred to ILBANK through our ministry and municipal investments in drinking water.” Sewage and drainage systems in the earthquake-affected regions. he said.
“The private sector will be at the heart of this effort”
AKB President Kanda stated that they began their cooperation at an extremely critical time and emphasized that Türkiye's strong recovery after the 2023 earthquake is an exceptional example of resilience. Kanda explained that the bank's support will focus on strengthening the country's role as a bridge between East and West in the areas of transportation, energy and connectivity, while maintaining Türkiye's financial stability and investment attractiveness.
Kanda pointed out that the private sector will be at the center of this process, saying that Türkiye's entrepreneurs and financial institutions play a key role in the country's economic growth.
Explaining that the bank's board has approved a €150 million public loan to support post-earthquake reconstruction, Kanda said: “We plan to provide $3 billion in project financing support next year. These are strong first steps, but the real test of our success will be the difference they will make in people's lives.”
“Preliminary country partnership strategy has been introduced”
On the other hand, the ministry's statement said that AKB President Kanda made his first official visit to Türkiye on November 12 and 13. It was stated that Kanda met with Minister Şimşek as part of the visit and said: “During the meeting, the new cooperation opportunities that emerged after Türkiye's transition to regional member status in 2024 in the ADB, of which Turkey has been a member since 1991, were comprehensively discussed. With this change in status, it has become possible for our public and private sectors to benefit from the Bank's favorable financing and technical support opportunities.” evaluation was carried out.
During the meeting, it was emphasized that the “Interim Country Partnership Strategy” prepared by the Bank was presented to establish the general framework of activities to be carried out in Turkey in the period 2025-2027, consistent with the country's development priorities.
“Türkiye has become a reliable and preferred development partner”
The statement said that the strategy aims to strengthen the reconstruction process and disaster-proof infrastructure after the February earthquakes, develop human capital, support development projects to increase water, food and energy security, strengthen the position of the Türkiye regional center in the areas of transport, energy and digital integration, and support the Middle Corridor initiative.
“AKB plans to finance $1 billion in public and private sector projects in our country by the end of 2025, $3 billion every year in 2026 and 2027. Thanks to the strong cooperation of the Ministry of Finance and Finance with multilateral development banks, Turkey has become a reliable and preferred development partner. To date, it cooperates with these institutions (World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, Black Sea Trade and “The total asset portfolio of projects implemented by the Development Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation (Trade and Development Bank) has reached about $40 billion.” This strong cooperation is a concrete indicator of international trust in our economic program.”
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