Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday during his two-day visit to Malaysia, discussing issues including possible lending.

According to ADB news release, they discussed how ADB can support Malaysia in areas such as water, urban transport, and renewable energy, including the possibility of lending to help Malaysia incorporate more advanced technologies, diversify its project funding sources, and address debt sustainability.

ADB's assistance will foster inclusive growth, enhance institutional capacity, improve government efficiency, and promote climate change actions, said the release.

It also highlighted that both parties agreed on the importance of ADB's continued engagement with upper-middle-income countries such as Malaysia, which support these areas based on ADB's 2030 Strategy.

Malaysia joined ADB as a founding member in 1966. Since then, Malaysia has received 2 billion US dollars of ADB assistance for 77 investment projects, most of which were during the 1980s and 1990s, in sectors such as agriculture, education, energy, and transport.

The last ADB loan to Malaysia was approved in 1997 for a skills development project.