MUMBAI:
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) concluded its third Annual Meeting on a high note to improve connectivity within the region and in turn enable citizens in the region to reach their potential and enjoy prosperity and security.
“Asian developing countries now account for 60% of global growth while roughly two-thirds of global trade is part of value chains passing through Asia. Unfortunately, protectionism practiced by some countries is likely to dim the prospects for all countries in the world, including themselves,” said Jin Liqun, President, AIIB.
Participating in a panel discussion during the day, Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, pointed out that “Make in India is about laying emphasis on manufacturing in India, not protectionism. India believes in globalization and has opened its economy in every single sector that you can name. As a result, India has stood numero uno in terms of attracting foreign direct investment in the past three years.”
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the need to deepen India’s engagement with AIIB. In his speech, Prime Minister called upon Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to increase its lending to US$40 billion by 2020 and US$100 billion by 2025 from US$4 billion now.
Quantifying the infrastructure needs of Asian region, Liqun said, “Between now and 2030, Asia’s investment in infrastructure must rise to US$2 trillion a year, or roughly triple of what it has been in the past.”
In summary, AIIB has established a strong corporate culture focused on embedding our core values of being lean, clean and green and a work-place environment free of corruption and harassment, Liqun added.
The Third Annual Meeting of AIIB was attended by over 3,000 delegates from 86 member countries. The Meeting also had several concurrent sessions that discussed critical issues pertaining to environment, low carbon emissions, connectivity through railway network across borders among several others.
Industries Department, Government of Maharashtra is the nodal Department, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Government of Maharashtra is the nodal agency, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is the Professional Conference Organiser (PCO), Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS) is the knowledge partner, for the third Annual Meeting of AIIB.Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is the Exhibition partner for the third Annual Meeting of AIIB.