The latest on China’s controversial Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, India’s growing aid to Africa and Afghanistan, current issues in health aid, and rising opportunities around impact investing were among the major highlights on Day Two of the Australasian Aid Conference in Canberra.
A much anticipated plenary session on the AIIB kicked off with Zhou Qiangwu, a senior adviser to the Chinese government on AIIB and director of the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Center in China, making a case for Australia to become a founding member of the bank.
China announced its plan to establish a new multilateral lender with a $50 billion starting capital during the 2013 APEC summit in Indonesia. On Oct. 21, countries signed on as founding members — Australia was not among them, but Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said the country would join if the AIIB had the same governance arrangements and transparency as the World Bank.
About the author
Alys Francis
Alys Francis is a freelance journalist covering development and other news in South Asia for international media outlets. Based in India, she travels widely around the region and has covered major events, including national elections in India and Nepal. She is interested in how technology is aiding development and rapidly altering societies.
