FM Nirmala Sitharaman asks AIIB to facilitate low-income countries to avail financial resources

FM Nirmala Sitharaman during the meeting with AIIB President Jin Liqun on September 25 in Samarkand (Image - Finance Ministry)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) should continue to focus on a client-centric approach and facilitate member countries, particularly low-income countries to avail financial resources through technical assistance.

She urged AIIB during a meeting with its president Jin Liqun on September 25, ahead of the 9th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). The minister appreciated AIIB's rapid growth in lending operations in a short span of nine years.

"The Union Finance Minister suggested that @AIIB_Official should continue strengthening its client centric approach and facilitate member countries, particularly Low-Income Countries to avail financial resources through technical assistance and other non-financial services," the finance ministry said in a post on X.

India being the second largest shareholder and the largest client, the AIIB President appreciated India's contributions to the governance and overall growth of the bank and expressed to explore opportunities to further strengthen the ties with India, it said.

As a multilateral development bank, Beijing-based AIIB is focused on developing sustainable infrastructure in Asia and promoting investments in infrastructure and other productive sectors, with a view to fostering sustainable economic development, creating wealth, and improving infrastructure connectivity.

In January 2016, it became a founding member of AIIB along with 57 countries. While India owns 83,673 shares with a capital subscription of $8.4 billion in AIIB, China owns 297,804 shares with $29.8 billion capital subscription.

Earlier in the day, Sitharaman also met Qatar Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and discussed bilateral trade, investments, digital public infrastructure and bilateral investment treaty (BIT) among others.

Referring to the historic and deep-rooted relationship between India and Qatar, she said that India continues to engage with Qatar to strengthen the ties further.

During the meeting, she mentioned that India remains the fastest-growing large economy in the world, which makes it an excellent destination for investment opportunities for Qatari entities in sectors like energy, infrastructure, logistics, hospitality, food security and startups etc.

Al Kuwari appreciated the fast-growing Indian economy and also welcomed the idea of exploring the huge potential of FDI in India, the Finance Ministry said in another post on X.

The delegation agreed to look into collaboration in areas for facilitating cross-border payment, digital transactions and finalisation of BIT in a fast-track mode, it added.