AIIB targets doubling annual financing to €17.6 billion by 2030
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) reaffirmed its commitment to closing the global infrastructure financing gap at its 11th annual meeting in Doha, focusing on how to finance future infrastructure and deliver for communities. This was the first annual meeting for AIIB President Zou Jiayi, who outlined the bank’s ambitions.
The Beijing-based multilateral development bank aims to broadly double its annual financing to around €17.6 billion by 2030. Zou said the bank will focus on areas where it can add the most value. “We will focus on infrastructure that supports climate resilience, renewable energy, digital transformation, regional connectivity, nature conservation, and people-centred development,” she stated. “We will leverage modern technology and mobilise private capital. Innovation is how we deliver impact.”
Strong climate focus and private capital mobilisation
In 2025, the AIIB approved €9.4 billion in financing across 57 projects. Of that, 71% supported climate-positive outcomes, surpassing the bank’s target. The institution also mobilised €4.3 billion in private capital during the year. The AIIB has increasingly teamed up with other multilateral development banks for global infrastructure projects, signing co-financing agreements with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. By the end of 2024, 131 of the bank’s 303 approved projects were co-financed with other multilateral development banks. The model is to pool resources and share expertise.
Zou emphasised that cooperation is central to the bank’s mission, especially as global trade becomes more fragmented and protectionism rises. “Cooperation is also at the heart of infrastructure,” she said. “Infrastructure facilitates connections, and building it requires collaboration across borders, institutions, and markets.”
Qatar’s role and the path forward
Qatar, a founding member of the AIIB, hosted the meeting. Qatari Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari reaffirmed the Gulf state’s commitment to the bank’s goals, noting that Qatar has learned this year how much resilient infrastructure matters. Qatar is also involved through the Qatar Fund for Development, which combines development assistance with longer-term investment and supports infrastructure, healthcare, and education projects internationally.
The AIIB now has 111 approved members worldwide and is capitalised at $100 billion. Its mandate extends beyond Asia, with projects in countries including Indonesia, the Maldives, Turkey, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. In 2025, approved projects included climate-resilient roads in Ivory Coast, a public-private partnership hospital in Kazakhstan, and climate-adaptive water management in Cambodia. The next annual meeting will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is working with the AIIB on green energy and other infrastructure projects. Trillions of dollars are still required yearly for global development, and unlocking capital remains the key challenge.
