Sharjah 24 – WAM: Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the UAE will chair the 6th Annual Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Board of Governors Meeting next week.
It will convene 103 members as well as strategic partners from around the world.
The Meeting, which is being held virtually under the theme "Investing Today. Transforming Tomorrow.", will take place from 26th to 28th October. For the first time AIIB will hold its Annual Meeting in the Middle East.
The UAE is one of the founding members of the AIIB, and the 2021 Annual Meeting will be chaired by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the UAE’s Governor on the AIIB Board of Governors.
The Meeting will focus on a number of key themes, including investing in the infrastructure for tomorrow such as Cross-border connectivity, green financing, resilient healthcare infrastructure and the role of global multilateral institutions in contributing to supporting projects based on ESG principles.
Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber said: "In chairing the 2021 AIIB Meeting, the UAE is reinforcing its commitment to promoting global initiatives that accelerate the development of a sustainable economy and drive a green infrastructure agenda."
"There is clear alignment between the AIIB’s mandate and the UAE’s strategic plans, including the ‘Principles of the 50’ and the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative. The UAE’s natural, competitive advantages, expertise and experience complement the AIIB’s work (MAS1) to advance infrastructure investment in emerging markets and developing economies. In addition our reputation as a trusted and responsible investor will help attract high quality investment partnerships," he continued.
This year’s meeting comes at a historic moment, coinciding with the hosting of Expo 2020, and an increased global interest in taking serious climate action. We look forward to chairing the Annual Meeting, which I’m confident will result in insightful and productive discussions to accelerate the sustainable economy and drive infrastructure development," he concluded.
On the sidelines of the virtual meeting, the UAE will host two seminars in Abu Dhabi focused on the UAE and the Middle East. The first seminar focuses on "How innovative financing can bridge the infrastructure spending gap in the Middle East" and will take place on Wednesday, 27th October from 11:30 to 12:15 UAE time at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in Mariyah Island. The second seminar will look at "How the UAE is supporting climate resilient infrastructure across the Middle East" and will take place on Thursday, 28th October from 9:15 to 10:00 UAE time at IRENA headquarters in Masdar City.
Both seminars are open to the public to attend virtually after registration on the AIIB website: www.aiib.org The meeting takes place at a time when (MAS2) the world needs more than 50 trillion US dollars by 2030 to upgrade and build reliable infrastructure. Mobilising private capital is key to delivering on this task, and eliminating the global infrastructure investment gap will require tremendous international cooperation. Governments will need to champion assets that are attractive to private investment and the private sector must invest in projects informed by ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) principles.
As part of the ‘Principles of the 50’, sustainability forms a core part of the country’s development plans, with local and global investments supporting both its environmental and economic efforts.
In 2020, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank announced its strategic ambition to allocate 50% of its total funding until 2025 to climate-friendly projects (for reference, climate finance accounted for 41 percent in 2020). As one of the founding members of the AIIB, the UAE is committed to supporting this vision, and to continue to drive sustainable development through innovation.
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