Samoa Invites the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to the Pacific

Apia, Samoa – 03 October 2023: Samoa has invited the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to visit the Pacific so to better understand the vulnerable environment and facilitate bankable projects that should be aligned to the Blue Pacific Strategy 2050 at the regional level and the Pathway for Development of Samoa at the national level.

The request was made by the Minister of Finance, Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molioo who led Samoa’s delegation to the Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Board of Governors held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from 25-26 September 2023.

The theme of the Annual Meeting was “Sustainable Growth in a Challenging World” which aimed to reaffirm actions, best practices and opportunities that would help achieve sustainable economic growth and positive impact.

The Annual Meeting 2023 was the first in person annual meeting since the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the first one to be held in the African continent. The meeting offered the unique opportunity and platform for dialogue amongst the member countries, and provide invaluable insights and guidance from the shareholders of the AIIB on its strategic directions and initiatives.

Minister Mulipola’s intervention at the Governors’ roundtable discussions about the role of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) in scaling up financing and being responsive to its clients was welcomed by the Chairman (Minister of Finance for Egypt) and the President of AIIB amongst other Governors.

Samoa advocated and fully supported the harmonization of requirements of MDBs such as AIIB, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and others to support capacity constraints in Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and minimise transactions costs.

AIIB was also asked to explore innovative solutions to relieve fiscal constraints to its clients, by considering the establishment of a special fund to mobilize highly concessional financing and grants for SIDS.

In addition, having more collaboration between AIIB with its Pacific member countries on delivering sustainable and resilient infrastructures given the Pacific region’s vulnerabilities.

Samoa became a member of the AIIB in April 2018, and the Minister of Finance is the Governor for Samoa to the AIIB’s Board of Governors, with the Ministry of Finance’s Chief Executive Officer as the Alternate Governor.

The AIIB membership has grown from 57 founding members in 2016 to 109 members in 2023. AIIB is a Multilateral Development Bank, with its headquarters in Beijing, China.

The AIIB focuses on Investments in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors, with its mission “Invest in the ‘Infrastructure for Tomorrow’ or ‘I4T’ that reflects its firm commitment to sustainability.

• Environmentally: Addresses ecological impacts like water and air quality, biodiversity, pollution and climate change.
• Financially and Economically: Projects with sound return on investment that raise economic growth and increase productivity.
• Socially: Gives inclusive access, particularly to citizens excluded from access to infrastructure services.

The AIIB’s four (4) thematic areas are (1) Green Infrastructure, (2) Connectivity and Regional Cooperation; (3) Technology Enabled Infrastructure and (4) Private Capital Mobilization.