Abu Dhabi: The UAE participated in the annual board meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The country was represented by His Excellency Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and UAE’s representative on the AIIB Board of Directors.
At the meeting, we reviewed the previous year’s achievements and discussed strategic initiatives for the future. The report calls for strengthening collaborative efforts to address challenges related to climate change through stronger collaboration, mobilizing available and affordable finance in key sectors, renewable energy, water and power generation. He emphasized the importance of increasing investment in sustainable, technology-enabled infrastructure projects, such as infrastructure. And transportation.
His Excellency Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE President of the AIIB, said that the bank has firmly established itself as a leading multilateral development bank, supported by a strong portfolio in sustainable development. He said that โThe world is increasingly reshaped by the emergence of new growth economies, the accelerating energy transition, and the rapid rise of AI. Our goal is to maximize our impact on global development and ensure sustainable development. and creating an environment that fosters investment in infrastructure that supports inclusive growth, particularly in renewable energy and advanced technologies.โ
His Excellency Al Jaber emphasized the need to expand and accelerate the mobilization of private capital, especially as the AIIB aims to lead more transactions and strengthen its market position.
โThe AIIB’s commitment, leadership and investment in developing cutting-edge green infrastructure is critical to progress and prosperity over the next decade. The sooner we deploy these investments, especially in emerging economies, the sooner we , we can expand that benefit faster,โ he added.
His Excellency Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi said: โThe urgency of combating climate change requires us to prioritize climate-resilient infrastructure while unlocking the potential of private capital to drive impact at scale. Our strength lies in collaboration and multilateral By joining forces with intergovernmental organizations, national institutions, and the private sector, we can accelerate innovative solutions that foster economic growth and environmental resilience.โ
His Excellency Al Suwaidi explained that the AIIB has already taken important steps to strengthen its support to the needs of its member countries. For example, following a review of its Capital Adequacy Framework (CAF), the bank issued a USD 1 billion guarantee for IBRD loans, strengthening its lending capacity. It also supports policy harmonization among multilateral development banks (MDBs) to streamline processes and ease the burden on customers, not to mention that the bank is the largest co-financing partner of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. are.
Still, with an eye to evolving global challenges, “scaling efforts to mobilize private capital remains critical, and the AIIB is a financing mechanism to attract large-scale private investment and reduce risk.” We should focus on the development of
The AIIB meeting took place amid forecast global economic growth of 3.3% in 2025, which is only slightly higher than the 3.2% growth in 2023 and 2024 and well above pre-pandemic growth levels. It’s below. Similar or lower growth rates are expected in the medium term, falling short of the requirements needed to achieve key development and climate goals.
Given the challenging economic outlook, the AIIB aims to prioritize and strengthen essential infrastructure investments to foster long-term sustainable growth.
The UAE became a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in April 2015, contributing approximately US$1.185 billion in capital. AIIB is a multilateral development bank focused on improving socio-economic conditions in Asia by providing infrastructure financing. Since its inception, the Bank has grown to 106 members and has financed 232 projects with a total value of USD 44.41 billion.
About Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD)
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) is the main national agency for economic development assistance owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Founded in 1971, it aims to support emerging countries by providing concessional loans to finance sustainable development projects and by managing long-term investments and direct donations. In addition to managing development grants provided by the Abu Dhabi government, ADFD adopts policies that support the national economy and finance private sector investment in the UAE. Since its inception, ADFD has marked development milestones in 103 developing countries. Over the past 50 years, ADFD’s development projects and investments worth AED 150 billion have helped the international community achieve sustainable economic growth and advanced the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I did.