The Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) held the inaugural meeting recently in Beijing under the aegis of Chinese President Xi Jinping.  

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake represented Sri Lanka at this meeting.  

Finance ministers and financial experts from 57 regional and non-regional Prospective Founding Members of the bank attended the meeting that ended on January 18. 

The meeting was of special significance to Sri Lanka as it presented another opportunity to showcase the country’s development potential to the international community. At the meeting, it was also agreed to explore the possibility of extending assistance to new development initiatives of Sri Lanka. 

On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Karunanayake held separate meetings with the finance ministers of several countries who took part in the meeting and their discussions mainly focused on the economic development plans of Sri Lanka. 

The AIIB, an initiative by the government of China, was established as a new multilateral financial institution aimed at providing financial support for infrastructure development and regional connectivity in Asia.