/United Kingdom

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the lead agency for official development assistance in the United Kingdom (UK). Established in September 2020, the FCDO resulted from the merger of the Department of International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The UK provides development assistance in the form of grants, equity, and loans. In 2021, the UK government published its “Indo-Pacific Tilt,” underlining the strategic importance that the UK is placing on the Asia and Pacific region.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy also handles a portion of UK’s development assistance in business, industrial strategy, science, innovation, energy, and climate change. Its work prioritizes the People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Sovereign Cofinancing. As of 2022, the UK has contributed to 13 trust funds with ADB, of which 10 are still active and 1 is yet to be established. The latest contribution committed was £107 million (around $129.7 million) for the UK–ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility Trust Fund, with the memorandum of understanding signed in July 2022. The trust fund is set to be established in 2023 and will support ADB’s developing member countries in Southeast Asia to transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways.

Nonsovereign Cofinancing. The Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) supported over 10,910 transactions valued at $15.6 billion with banks domiciled in the UK from inception to December 2022. During the same period, the TSCFP supported over 470 UK exports and/or imports valued at $332.2 million. In 2022 alone, the TSCFP supported 3,398 transactions valued at $2.4 billion with banks domiciled in UK and supported 94 UK exports and/or imports valued at $34 million. Exports and/or imports were mainly to/from Bangladesh, Viet Nam, and Pakistan. Underlying goods involved mostly raw and non-energy commodities, food and agriculture-related goods, as well as textiles and apparel.

The UK has also been supportive of ADB’s TSCFP through its contribution to the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund that provided $1.5 million to finance TSCFP’s safeguards-related initiatives.

Special funds. The UK contributes to ADB special funds where contributions from financing partners are administered with the same level of care as ADB’s own resources. Since becoming a member in 1966, the UK has committed a total of $1.9 billion to special funds, of which $1.8 billion went to the Asian Development Fund (ADF). The ADF provides grants to ADB’s low-income developing member countries to promote poverty reduction and improvements in the quality of life.

Knowledge. In partnership with the British Medical Journal, the UK government’s Better Health Programme, and UK National Health Service, ADB hosted a webinar with speakers from Malaysia, the Philippines, and the UK who talked about lessons on the delivery of COVID-10 booster and pediatric vaccines.