16 hours ago
Kingdom Seeks Asian Investment
TDT | Manama
Bahrain stepped up efforts to position itself as a key beneficiary of Asian-led infrastructure investment by engaging with top decision-makers during the 10th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), held in Beijing under the theme 'Connecting for Development and Cooperation for Prosperity'.
Leading the Kingdom's delegation, Yousef Abdullah Al-Hamoud, Undersecretary for Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, held meetings with bank executives and other high-level officials to expand Bahrain's role in the region's infrastructure development map.
Strategic engagement
On the sidelines of the summit, Al-Hamoud met with Konstantin Lemtovsky, Chief Investment Officer at AIIB, and Junjing Wang, CEO of the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Financing.
The discussions focused on enhancing joint cooperation and unlocking new opportunities for financing infrastructure, energy, and logistics projects in Bahrain.
The summit, inaugurated by Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of China, brought together ministers, investors, and international organisations to address development challenges through strategic partnerships and sustainable infrastructure funding.
Support for new leadership
Al-Hamoud conveyed Bahrain's support for Ms. Zou Jiayi of China, who was elected by the AIIB Board of Governors as the bank's new President.
He welcomed her vision for expanding the bank's contribution to development projects across member states and praised the AIIB's growing role in responding to climate and geopolitical changes.
He also reaffirmed Bahrain's commitment to cooperating with the AIIB and aligning its national infrastructure strategies with the bank's regional investment goals.
Platform for growth
The AIIB, established in 2015, now includes 110 member countries. Its operational priorities span sectors such as transportation, energy, communications, agriculture, and urban development. Bahrain became a member in 2018 and continues to pursue opportunities to attract multilateral financing for strategic national projects.
As infrastructure financing becomes increasingly competitive across the region, Bahrain's active engagement at this summit signals a renewed drive to tap into Asia-led development flows.
