FM Nirmala Sitharaman Reaches Qatar for AIIB Annual Meeting, Investors Dialogue

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reached Qatar to participate in the 11th annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), an official statement said on Monday. She was welcomed upon her arrival by Srikar Reddy Koppula, Ambassador of India to Qatar, at Hamad International Airport in Doha. “The Union Finance Minister is scheduled to participate in the 11th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the AIIB Investors Dialogue 2026 in Doha over the next two days,” Finance Ministry said in a post on X.

She will also have other important bilateral meetings with the AIIB President and her counterparts from Jordan, Switzerland, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Nepal. The Finance Minister will participate in the annual meeting of the AIIB, in her capacity as the Indian Governor to the AIIB. India is the second largest shareholder of the bank. In the Annual Meeting of AIIB, the Union Finance Minister will attend as the Indian Governor to the AIIB. India is the second largest shareholder of the bank.

As part of the official visit, the Union Finance Minister is expected to call-on the leadership of the Government of Qatar and also engage with Qatari business leaders and investors. The AIIB is a multilateral development bank that finances building projects -- like roads, green energy, and water systems -- to improve economic and social conditions in Asia and globally. The bank, headquartered in Beijing, started operations in January 2016 with a capital of $100 billion.

The bank has 111 approved member countries from around the world. The main focus areas of the bank are funding projects that support clean energy and protect the environment, and improving transport, digital networks, as well as water infrastructure between countries. Besides, it is also working with private investors to fund large-scale public and private developments. India and Qatar have strong bilateral energy relations with a 20-year LNG agreement between India’s Petronet LNG and QatarEnergy, securing 7.5 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2028 to 2048.

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