MUMBAI, INDIA–​Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has arrived here to take part in the third annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) set to begin today (June 25, 2018).

This year’s meeting will also feature the launching of the Asian Infrastructure Forum (AIF), which aims to gather policy makers and experts involved in infrastructure development in practical and project-driven discussions that focus on matching innovative financing programs to critical infrastructure needs.

The Board of Governors’ meetings and seminars will focus discussions on ways to ensure a sustainable future for Asia through sound infrastructure investments.

According to host country India, this year’s theme, “Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration,” recognizes the private sector’s vital role in bridging the infrastructure gap.

Dominguez, as AIIB governor for the Philippines, will attend the Governors’ Seminars and deliver the Philippines’ statement during the Governors’ Business Roundtable scheduled this afternoon​ (June 25).

After the Governors’ Plenary Session that will last from morning till early afternoon on June 26, Dominguez is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the AIF workshop on “Advancing Together: ASEAN Infrastructure Development.”

Joining Dominguez in the panel discussion during the workshop are Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, Indonesia’s Minister of National Development Planning Bambang P.S. Brodjonegoro, Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and Kevan Watts, vice chairman for global banking of HSBC.

From Mumbai, Dominguez will fly to the city of Chennai in South India to deliver the keynote speech upon the invitation of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), a nonprofit organization that develops and promotes strategies for economic growth through the use of science and technology for sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Dominguez will discuss the Duterte administration’s economic strategy of modernizing infrastructure and developing human capital to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth before members of the Foundation.

As of April 11 this year, the AIIB Board of Directors has approved 26 infrastructure projects across Asia to be financed by the bank totalling some $4.52 billion.

In the Philippines, the Metro Manila Flood Management Project Phase 1 (MMFMP1), is the first project co-financed by AIIB with the World Bank. It was signed in December last year and declared effective on March 15, 2018.

The AIIB, which has its main headquarters in Beijing, commenced operations in January 2016 and has now grown to 86 approved members from across the globe. The bank’s mission “is to improve economic and social development in Asia by investing in high quality, financially viable and environmentally friendly infrastructure projects.”

Its first Annual Meeting was held in Beijing, China in 2016, while the second one was held in Jeju Island in South Korea in 2017.

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