Egypt is getting ready to host the eighth annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Sharm El-Sheikh on 25-26 September. The event, which will be held in Africa for the first time, will bring together more than 3,000 prominent economic figures and leaders from around the world, including 106 finance ministers and central bank governors. The event will aim to foster multilateral and cross-border development efforts and initiatives and to open new horizons for achieving intercontinental goals and supporting the infrastructure of emerging economies amid global crises that put unprecedented pressure on all world economies. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly chaired a meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance in the New Administrative Capital to review the preparations for the event. The meeting was attended by the ministers of planning and economic development, environment, international cooperation, and local development, as well as officials from the Industrial Steel Products Company and the international company that will partner with it to establish an integrated industrial complex to produce flat steel. The Prime Minister instructed that the event be organized similarly to the climate summit that was held in Sharm El-Sheikh last year. He also directed that there should be specialized sessions on the sidelines of the event to showcase the available investment opportunities and financing facilities in internationally competitive areas of mutual interest, and to allow the private sector to participate in these sessions. The Minister of Finance and Egypt's governor to AIIB, Mohamed Maait, stressed that Egypt has all the potential and expertise to host international events in the best and most honorable way. He noted that the Egyptian state has mobilized all its resources to make AIIB's upcoming annual meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh a big success. The Minister of Finance also emphasized that Egypt is keen to make use of all opportunities to join international institutions to benefit from their expertise and potential in supporting economic development plans. He indicated that Egypt's subscription to AIIB's capital stands at $650m, making it the largest subscriber in Africa. He added that Egypt is now considered an AIIB regional member state in terms of finance and non-regional in terms of geographical location and that Egypt and Canada share an alternate seat on AIIB's board of directors. The Minister of Finance also pointed out that AIIB's investment portfolio in Egypt stands at $1.3bn, and that AIIB will also offer a guarantee for Egypt issuing green Panda bonds in Chinese Yuan worth $500m. This reflects Egypt's keenness to diversify its sources, tools, and markets of finance. The Minister of Finance concluded that the deadline for registration in AIIB's upcoming annual meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh was extended to 15 September to allow all those wishing to participate to join the event and contribute to the lively debates of this international forum and in confirmation of the cross-border development partnerships.
