MANILA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) reaffirmed on Wednesday the strong and productive partnership between their institutions, and explored ways of stepping up cooperation as ADB expanded private sector operations under its long-term Strategy 2030.

"As both organizations sharpen their focus on private sector operations, we expect ever greater cooperation and collaboration. This can range from country-level engagement and public-private partnership advisory work to our financing of private sector projects throughout the region," ADB President Takehiko Nakao said.

ADB and IFC co-finance many projects in Asia-Pacific in a range of sectors including energy, telecommunications, agribusiness, and small and medium-sized enterprise financing.

Under Strategy 2030, private sector operations will reach one-third of ADB operations in number by 2024.

Every 1 U.S. dollar in ADB financing for its private sector operations will be matched by 2.5 U.S. dollars of long-term co-financing by 2030.