It is my pleasure to invite you to the launch of the study „The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB): Global leader in infrastructure finance, at what cost?“ (commissioned by the Heinrich Boell foundation) on Monday, 1 February, from 16:00 – 17:30 CET via zoom.
Within a period of about five years, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) established itself as a major actor in multilateral finance under Chinese leadership. Its membership stands presently at 85 member states, among them 19 EU shareholders.
The authors of the study, Dr. Korinna Horta (Independent Researcher, University of Lisbon) and Wawa Wang (Finance and Governance Program Director, VedvarendeEnergi) analysed the AIIB’s provisions for transparency and public disclosure of project information as the AIIB is positioning itself to become the global leader in infrastructure finance. The study identifies substantial shortcomings when it comes to the time-bound public disclosure of essential information relating to environmental and social impacts of large-scale infrastructure projects, which by their very nature carry high risks.
At our virtual event, Korinna Horta and Wawa Wang will present the main findings of their study and a reality check of AIIB’s practices. Afterwards we will discuss in particular the following questions: What steps can the EU stakeholders and the EU take in holding the AIIB accountable for its commitments to environmental and social standards? How can the EU get more closely involved in monitoring the AIIB’s activities? How can European and other like-minded governments work more forcefully together for the adoption of international standards and practices at the AIIB?
We have invited the following speakers to comment on the study:
- Jean-Louis Ville, European Commission, DG INTPA, head of unit, Asia, Central-Asia, Middle East/Gulf and the Pacific
- Ferdinand Schaff, Senior Manager Greater China, Representative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI)
- Jörg Haas, head of International Politics Division, Heinrich Boell Foundation
After inputs from the speakers, we will open our interactive online format for a discussion with the participants. Please note that the number of participants is limited, we therefore recommend an early registration here.
We look forward to discussing with you. Please don’t hesitate to share this invitation with others.
