Bangkok to Unite Development Banks With $23 Trillion for Sustainable Growth Push

ADB President Masato Kanda warned that fragmentation in the international system, rising needs and the cost of delay demand a determined response from public development banks.

Public development banks managing about $23 trillion in assets will gather in Bangkok from 31 March to 2 April 2027 for a summit focused on turning financial strength into investments that meet pressing development needs. The sixth Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), hosted at the United Nations Convention Center, will bring together more than 500 public development banks and their stakeholders as countries face growing demands for financing and tighter government budgets.

Asia Hosts a Global Development Finance Gathering

The Bangkok meeting will be the first FiCS summit held in Asia, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) serving as a co-host, supported by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and other regional and global partners. Under the theme 'Delivering Sustainable Growth for a More Resilient Future,' discussions will concentrate on developing projects, structuring innovative financing transactions and creating practical opportunities for investment and partnerships.

More than 2,000 participants are expected, including development bank executives, senior government officials, regulators, business leaders, institutional investors, civil society representatives, researchers and international organizations. Plenary discussions, working sessions, investment pitches and meetings between financial institutions and prospective partners will give participants opportunities to connect development priorities with institutions capable of financing them.

ADB President Masato Kanda warned that fragmentation in the international system, rising needs and the cost of delay demand a determined response from public development banks. He urged institutions to bring their financial strength to Bangkok, saying the decisions made there could influence the security and opportunities available to billions of people for a generation.

Turning Financial Resources Into Investable Projects

Finance in Common, launched in 2020, is the global forum for public development banks, institutions with public mandates to finance long-term economic and social priorities. Its members invest about $2.5 trillion annually, developing projects and attracting private finance, with the initiative helping them coordinate investment, strengthen shared practices and contribute more effectively to international economic debates.

The Bangkok gathering is being framed as a "Summit of Delivery," connecting public and private financiers with investment opportunities across Asia and the Pacific. Its focus on project development and concrete transactions reflects the pressure on countries to address urgent needs despite limited public resources, making cooperation between financing institutions an important part of moving investment proposals forward.

Finance in Common Chairman Rémy Rioux described the coalition's first Asian summit as a turning point, recognizing the contribution public development banks have made to the region's sustainable development. He called for a collective, long-term approach that produces projects capable of attracting financing and delivering substantial development benefits, connecting international commitments with practical implementation.

Collective Action for Climate, Nature and Clean Energy

The summit will seek to strengthen public development banks' ability to operate as a coordinated system, expanding financing for investments that protect and restore nature, build resilience to a changing climate and support clean energy. Cooperation across institutions will be central to that effort, helping connect their resources and expertise with projects that serve long-term development priorities.

Discussions will carry forward key issues addressed during ADB's 2026 chairship of the Heads of Multilateral Development Banks and the 2026 Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. Priorities include attracting more private capital, sharing and co-financing projects with other investors, reducing duplication between institutions and sustaining long-term investment during economic crises.

Bangkok follows previous Finance in Common gatherings in Paris in 2020, Rome in 2021, Abidjan in 2022, Cartagena in 2023 and Cape Town in 2025. The 2027 meeting will build on that international network with a practical emphasis on investment opportunities and partnerships, placing the delivery of financeable projects at the centre of the next stage of cooperation.