Seven years into its operations, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has upheld multilateralism, achieved rapid development and actively responded to various global challenges.
“The unique advantage of AIIB, which is taking developing countries as the mainstay but also including a large number of developed countries, makes AIIB a bridge for South-South cooperation and North-South cooperation,” AIIB President Jin Liqun told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
Jin made the remarks as AIIB’s seventh annual meeting was held in Beijing in a virtual format from Wednesday to Thursday. Themed “Sustainable Infrastructure Toward a Connected World,” the meeting focused on promoting connectivity and regional cooperation.
Seven years ago, the bank started with 57 founding members and has since grown to 105 economies from six continents.
To date, it has approved 191 projects, mobilizing more than 85 billion U.S. dollars in capital, including from the private sector, and playing a positive role in fostering infrastructure development in areas such as transport, energy, water resources and public health.
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On addressing climate change, AIIB has committed to ensuring that at least 50 percent of its lending is directed at climate finance by 2025. “In 2021, AIIB’s climate finance amounted to 2.9 billion U.S. dollars or 48 percent of total approved financing,” Jin noted.
The bank has also provided 26 members with more than 12.2 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of funds to support their work on containing the pandemic and promoting economic recovery.
In response to a complex set of challenges worldwide, Jin said that multilateralism is the key to solving global problems.
Seven years on, AIIB has established partnerships with 13 multilateral organizations and regional financial institutions and jointly promoted the resolution of global development issues.
“AIIB will continue to support major international initiatives, including the Global Development Initiative, and will propel cooperation with all parties in areas such as poverty reduction, COVID-19 control, climate change and green development, interconnectivity and the digital economy,” Jin said.
Efforts will be made to jointly explore multilateral solutions that meet current needs, and make contributions to promoting the world’s common development and achieving the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, he added.
Originally published by Xinhua
