ISLAMABAD: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has decided to expand its global presence to bring the bank both closer to its clients and to the front lines of its business.

Abu Dhabi will be the preferred location for the operational hub of AIIB, as decided by the board of directors, to be the bank’s first overseas office.

An AIIB press release said the hub will provide AIIB with a robust platform to enable effective supervision of its growing investment portfolio and strengthen its project monitoring and implementation services across the globe.

As one of AIIB’s founding members, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the region’s fastest-growing economies and has been actively promoting green transition.

A formal agreement for the hub will be finalised during the coming weeks. The UAE has been designated as the preferred location for the hub because it best fits the bank’s selection criteria, in particular superb connectivity to the AIIB’s global membership.

The hub is designated as an “interim” operation for the purposes of gaining experience prior to establishing AIIB’s long-term global presence. The bank will seek board’s authorisation to open additional offices to better serve its growing roster of clients and expanding stakeholder communities.

AIIB now has a total of 105 members, starting with 57 founding members in 2016. It has developed a portfolio of 181 projects in 33 member countries.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2022