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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a meeting with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) delegation in Delhi on Monday.
The delegation comprises 11 officials of the Board of Directors of AIIB from 9 different constituencies, senior representatives of the AIIB Management and AIIB staff visiting India for the Board group visit, said Ministry of Finance. Key purpose of the AIIB Board visit India is to provide the Board of Directors a holistic insight into the AIIB's ongoing and planned investments in its member countries and provide an opportunity to engage with the government, private sector and other stakeholders. Appreciating the AIIB on its remarkable growth over the past nine years, the Union Finance Minister underlined India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals and its demonstrated leadership in creating and harnessing the power of digital public infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said. The Union Finance Minister, who is also Governor of the AIIB Board, stated that AIIB should broaden its investment in priority sectors of climate adaptation and resilience, infrastructure development, energy security, and urban development and extend support for India's next-generation reforms. She also stressed the importance of continually incorporating finance plus and budget plus elements in AIIB's project design and implementation. Sitharaman mentioned that India's experience of digital transformation can serve as a model for other countries seeking to harness digital solutions for inclusive growth and also India's rich experience of disaster management, which can be of value to several vulnerable economies. The Union Finance Minister stressed on the fact that India has a lot to offer in terms of sectoral best practices and AIIB should develop an institutional mechanism to facilitate transfer of knowledge and technology from India to other similarly placed countries. Sitharaman further suggested that AIIB should strive for greater provision of innovative financial tools and models and scale up its efforts for private capital mobilisation and assured the AIIB of India's full support and cooperation in this regard and added that India could act as a sandbox for AIIB's piloting of innovative financing models and technologies. The Union Finance Minister encouraged AIIB to continue participating in the ongoing work on strengthening and reforming MDBs in line with the recommendations of the Independent Expert Group established under India's G20 Presidency, including the call for MDBs to work together as a system for greater impact and scale. Sitharaman pointed out that India remains committed to governance reforms in MDBs to ensure that MDBs are 'fit for purpose' to address contemporary challenges while remaining inclusive and responsive to the needs of all members, particularly of Low-Income Countries (LICs). Prior to the meeting, the delegation visited the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project being financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), AIIB and the New Development Bank (NDB). The delegation will also visit other project sites in Bengaluru and interact with leading technology sector representatives. The delegation also participated in a roundtable discussion with other multilateral and bilateral agencies and project implementing agencies of India to facilitate a robust exchange of information and experiences focussing on India's development priorities, investment landscape and operational challenges while exploring further opportunities for collaboration and investment. (ANI)
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