The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has formally entered into its first partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), marking a significant step towards integrating humanitarian action with long-term development efforts in fragile and conflict-affected regions across Asia and the Pacific.

A Letter of Intent establishing the collaboration was signed on June 10 by ADB Vice-President for Sectors and Themes Fatima Yasmin and ICRC Director-General Pierre Krähenbühl. The agreement provides a framework for coordinating programmes, exchanging knowledge on emerging humanitarian challenges, promoting innovation and sharing best practices through joint events and publications.

The partnership brings together ADB’s development expertise and financing capabilities with the ICRC’s operational experience and access to communities affected by conflict and violence.

Highlighting the significance of the initiative, ADB President Masato Kanda wrote on X on June 17 that the partnership would help strengthen resilience in fragile and conflict-affected areas.

“By bringing together ADB’s longer-term development perspective with ICRC’s humanitarian field presence and operational experience, we can better support people affected by conflict and violence,” Kanda said.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Yasmin said today’s interconnected challenges require development institutions to move beyond traditional approaches.

“The ICRC brings trusted access to affected communities and credibility in environments that ADB alone cannot easily reach,” she said.

Krähenbühl described the agreement as an important step towards bridging humanitarian assistance and long-term development, adding that it could create opportunities for joint responses in fragile settings across the region.

A Sri Lankan socio-economist told The Island Financial Review that the partnership reflects a growing recognition among development institutions that conflict, fragility and climate-related shocks are becoming major constraints on economic progress.

“Traditionally, development banks focused on long-term infrastructure and economic projects while humanitarian agencies addressed immediate crises. This partnership seeks to connect those two worlds by reducing vulnerability before crises deepen,” he said.

Prime Residencies, the real leader in the modern real estate, and a subsidiary of Prime Group, officially marked the commencement of construction on its latest ultra-luxury residential development, THE GOLF, with its groundbreaking ceremony held at the project site on Lake Drive, Colombo 8. The event brought together key stakeholders and project partners to mark the ceremonial breaking of the ground, signalling that a vision long in the making is currently under construction.

Wickramarachchi Opticians and Hearing Care, a leading healthcare institution in Sri Lanka, is celebrating its golden jubilee this year, marking five decades of providing quality vision and hearing healthcare services across the nation.

Founded in 1976 by Dr. Mihira Wickramarachchi, the organisation has grown from a single practice into an extensive network of over 50 branches nationwide. The company has been instrumental in advancing both optical and hearing healthcare in Sri Lanka, becoming the first authorised distributor of Denmark’s Danavox hearing aids in the Asia Pacific region in 1977. In 2004, they facilitated the country’s first cochlear implant surgery, a programme that has since supported more than 1,100 procedures, transforming countless lives affected by hearing loss.

The company now operates across four specialised divisions covering optical care, hearing care, speech-language pathology, and biomedical equipment solutions. Throughout its history, Wickramarachchi has consistently invested in modern diagnostic technology, internationally recognised brands, and highly trained professionals to deliver world-class care tailored to local needs.