At AIIB Forum, Sri Mulyani Pushed the Issues of Climate Change and Sustainable Financing

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA – Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati is still in Sharm El-Sheikh City, Egypt today to take part in a series of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) agendas.

In the opening ceremony on Monday, the Minister of Finance expressed her thanks and appreciation for AIIB's support to all member countries.

"Representing Indonesia, I thank and appreciate all of AIIB's support for its members. Especially in helping groups of developing countries face current global economic challenges while realizing their commitment to overcoming climate change," she said as reported on the official website, on Tuesday, September 26.

It was stated that the Minister of Finance also participated in the Governors' Business Roundtable. A Board of Governors discussion forum consisting of representatives from each member country to discuss strategic policies for the future development of AIIB.

The issue of climate change is still the main topic in the discussion. The Minister of Finance said that financing innovation is also a crucial challenge in ensuring affordable access to funding.

The state treasurer also underlined the important role of AIIB as a catalyst in designing various financing instruments.

"AIIB has a very important role as a catalyst in designing various financing instruments. Apart from that, support in project preparation is also very necessary to attract private sector participation," she said.

The Minister of Finance added that the transition process towards environmentally friendly energy is not simple. Therefore, support from MDBs such as the AIIB could be a solution for member countries.

On the same day, the Minister of Finance was also the keynote speaker at the AIIB Seminar with the theme "Raising the Ambition to Meet the Climate Challenge: Mobilization of Resources for Climate Finance"

A number of matters discussed included the Indonesian Government's efforts to attract private sector involvement in energy transition investment.

"Indonesia has often pioneered initiatives to handle climate change, such as the ETM Country Platform which continues to progress, also forming the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), and there are many other initiatives that Indonesia has carried out to build awareness of climate action," she explained.

She believes that the launch of the AIIB Climate Action Plan not only shows commitment, but is also a concrete step for AIIB as part of the solution to overcome the impacts of climate change.

"We can create a world that is better, sustainable, low carbon emissions and inclusive," said the Minister of Finance.

For information, AIIB is one of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) which is a development partner for many countries, including Indonesia. Currently, AIIB has 106 member countries and is growing progressively amidst the pandemic crisis and global economic turbulence.