New York, New York

Continuing with the Lunch and learn series for staff members in OLA, the Office organized on the 13 November another presentation entitled “Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) – Heritage and Innovation”.

This presentation was conducted by Mr. Gerard Sanders, General Counsel and Dr. Xuan Gao, Chief Counsel (Institutional) of the AIIB. The presenters highlighted how as the only major Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) created in the 21st century, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) not only benefits from the experiences of the progenitors such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, but also contributes to the MDB community with its own innovative solutions to international development and global governance challenges.

This presentation offered a bird’s eye view of the principal features of AIIB, including what the AIIB has learned from others and examining how it has translated what it learned into its own governance structure and operations.

Members of OLA were actively engaged by asking questions and discussing topics such as AIIB’s membership; purposes and functions; funding and governance; accountability framework and the AIIB’s relationship with the United Nations, including the AIIB being granted observer status by the General Assembly in 2018. As one of the participants remarked: “It was interesting to learn about the history, mission and priorities of the AIIB, particularly its objective in addressing the infrastructure gaps that exists in the less developed members within Asia, as well as more generally on its implementation projects outside Asia.”

The presenters also mentioned that the first AIIB Annual Law Lecture was delivered by the UN Legal Counsel in 2017, at its headquarters in China and that the AIIB is looking forward to the continued cooperation and collaboration with the staff members of OLA and across the UN Secretariat.

Recent Activities