7th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of AIIB: Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman recently attended the 7th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference.

About:

• Every year at the Annual Meeting, the Board of Governors meets to take key decisions on important matters relating to AIIB, and its future vision.
• India is a Founding Member and the second-largest shareholder in AIIB.
• India also has the largest project portfolio within AIIB.

The theme of for the year 2022 Annual Meeting was “Sustainable Infrastructure Toward a Connected World”.

Highlights of the meeting:

• Finance Minister shared her thoughts in the Governor’s Roundtable Discussion on the theme “Financing Infrastructure in a Crisis-Prone World”.
• She appreciated AIIB for its continued commitment and dedication to assist members and for providing high-quality development finance.
• While addressing the meeting she emphasized that India has embarked on the path of a self-reliant economy and therefore has been successful in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic.
• She stated that despite exogenous threats, India’s well-targeted policy mix, accompanied by major structural reforms and sound external balance sheet, have aided its growth to remain resilient.
• She also underscored the remarkable progress India has made through its Digitalization Mission, utilizing technology to facilitate social protection and boost financial inclusion.
• She also highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is actively leading India’s climate change response efforts through various programs such as ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ and among many others.

About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):

• The AIIB is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia.
• It was formed on 16 January 2016.
• Its area of operation is in Asia and it provides loans to build Infrastructure of tomorrow -green infrastructure with sustainability, innovation and connectivity at its core.
• It is headquartered in Beijing, China.
• The bank currently has 105 members, including 14 prospective members from around the world.

The breakdown of the 105 members by continents are as follows:

• 42 in Asia,
• 26 in Europe,
• 20 in Africa,
• 8 in Oceania,
• 8 in South America, and
• 1 in North America.

• China is the majority shareholder of the bank and India is the second largest shareholder of the bank.
• The United States and Japan are not the members of the bank.
• AIIB has given maximum loans to India.
• The current President of the Bank is Jin Liqun of China.

Note: Urjit Patel of India is one of the five Vice-President of AIIB.