The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday launched a joint-financing framework for two development projects in Fiji and Tonga while Bangladesh is also under consideration for the next round of mutual investment, said the lenders.
Bangladesh will get preference in the next round of WB-ADB joint-financing system, titled "Full Mutual Reliance Framework (FMRF)", for the development projects as the lenders have initially selected 20 projects across the world for mutual investment, the lenders said.
WB Group President Ajay Banga and ADB President Masato Kanda announced the first two Pacific projects to be delivered under the FMRF, an innovative co-financing model that will boost development impact.
Both the presidents at a press briefing from the ADB headquarters in Manila on Thursday informed that the framework would allow countries to work with a single lead lender, either ADB or the World Bank, guiding all aspects of project design, preparation, supervision, and evaluation.
The Financial Express reporter was invited to the online press briefing, organised from the ADB headquarters.
Replying to a query from the FE reporter, a senior executive of the WB said that they are also exploring possibility of the co-financing to Bangladesh and other borrowing countries in the near future.
Regarding the FMRF, the ADB and WB in the joint briefing said it will streamline processes and reduce duplication between the two institutions.
Countries will benefit from faster project implementation, lower transaction costs, and continued adherence to high policy standards.
According to the WB and ADB, the first two projects under the framework are a major health modernisation initiative in Fiji and an integrated transport, urban, and water infrastructure investment in Tonga.
"Our goal is to make development finance simpler, faster, and more effective," said ADB President Masato Kanda.
"With this approach, we respond to client needs to solve complex challenges together, from disaster resilience to better connectivity, while supporting their long-term vision for prosperity," added the ADB president.
"We pursued this framework for one core reason: our clients asked us to make their lives easier. To work faster. To be better partners," said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.
"This is an important step forward - for our institutions, yes, but far more importantly, for the countries and communities who count on us to deliver real results," he added.
Under the first two projects, the WB-ADB is jointly providing $236.5 million for the Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation (PHIT) project, that led by the World Bank, aims to tackle non-communicable diseases, which are among the leading causes of death across Pacific island countries.
The project will mark the largest single operation of the World Bank Group in the Pacific.
In Fiji, the project will modernise primary health-care networks and support a new, state-of-the-art regional hospital, giving people across the Pacific greater access to treatment for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other major health conditions.
The World Bank Board has approved its financing for this project. ADB's proposed cofinancing will be presented to its Board for consideration in early 2026.
The second, ADB-led project, the Tonga Sustainable Economic Corridors and Urban Resilience (SECURE) project, was approved by its Board of Directors on 20 November 2025.
With ADB and the World Bank expected to provide a combined total of $120 million in grant financing, SECURE will be the largest development partner-financed project undertaken in Tonga's history.
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