MANILA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced Tuesday that it will scale up its investment in food security in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) to 40 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.

Speaking at the 16th BIMP-EAGA Summit in Kuala Lumpur, ADB President Masato Kanda emphasized the importance of food security, coastal resilience, and regional energy integration as key drivers of sustainable growth and resilience in the subregion.

"BIMP-EAGA is known as ASEAN's food basket, but climate change is threatening its agriculture, fisheries, and marine ecosystems. Addressing these vulnerabilities is critical," he said.

ADB support includes financing, policy guidance, project implementation, and capacity building. In the Philippines, ADB has deployed 500 million dollars to agricultural development and plans to approve an additional 400 million dollars to support marine ecosystems and the blue economy.

In Indonesia, the bank is backing efforts to reduce marine plastic pollution and enhance aquaculture, with combined funding reaching 600 million dollars.

Energy integration was highlighted as another priority. ADB pledged up to 10 billion dollars to advance the ASEAN Power Grid, focusing on cross-border interconnections, national grid expansion, and renewable energy development.

Meanwhile, ADB aims to expand its trade and supply chain finance in ASEAN to over 2.5 billion dollars annually by 2030.

Established in 1994, the BIMP-EAGA aims to spur development in remote and less developed areas in the four participating Southeast Asian countries. ■