Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman held a meeting with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) delegation in New Delhi yesterday. The delegation consisted of 11 officials of AIIB’s Board Directors visiting India for the Board group visit.

Appreciating the AIIB for its remarkable growth over the past nine years, the Minister underlined India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and its demonstrated leadership in creating and harnessing the power of digital public infrastructure.

Mrs. Sitharaman stated that AIIB should broaden its investment in priority sectors of climate adaptation and resilience, infrastructure development, energy security, urban development and extend support for India’s next generation reforms. She also stressed upon the importance of continually incorporating finance plus and budget plus elements in AIIB’s project design and implementation.

The Union Finance Minister is also Governor on the AIIB Board. Our correspondent reports that the 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.