FM Sitharaman urges AIIB to boost low income investments

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman met ,Zou Jiayi, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),in New Delhi on Monday, calling for expanded investments in low-income member countries and deeper collaboration in India’s infrastructure sector.Representing India ,the second-largest shareholder in AIIB, Sitharaman underscored the need to scale up investments across member nations, particularly low-income countries, through innovative financing and non-financing instruments. She stressed that multilateral development banks must adopt flexible and forward-looking mechanisms to address emerging development challenges.
During the discussions, the Finance Minister highlighted India’s continued focus on infrastructure-led growth under the Union Budget 2026, noting that sustained public capital expenditure remains central to the country’s economic strategy. Both sides deliberated on strengthening the India-AIIB partnership through early upstream engagement in infrastructure projects, enabling improved project preparation and faster implementation.Sitharaman also emphasised AIIB’s potential role in deepening capital markets and accelerating approvals for key infrastructure projects in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. She further proposed the establishment of a regional office in India, citing the scale and significance of AIIB’s operations in the country.
According to AIIB’s official data, the bank began operations in 2016 with 57 founding members  37 regional and 20 non-regional. By the end of 2020, its membership had expanded to 103 approved members, representing approximately 79 per cent of the global population and 65 per cent of global GDP.In a social media post following the meeting, the Ministry of Finance stated that both sides discussed avenues to further strengthen cooperation, particularly through early-stage infrastructure planning and project development services.
Earlier, Sitharaman also met Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s Minister of Finance, in New Delhi. The two leaders held constructive discussions on enhancing collaboration in investment, fintech, and the broader financial sector.Both ministers expressed interest in the early convening of the inaugural India-Canada Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), aimed at deepening economic and financial cooperation between the two countries.The engagements reflect India’s broader push to strengthen multilateral and bilateral financial partnerships while maintaining a strong domestic focus on infrastructure expansion and capital market development.

(Business Correspondent)