Ministerial-level delegates from 25 countries will participate in the second Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank annual meeting to discuss sustainable infrastructure in South Korea‘s southern resort island of Jeju, the government said Thursday.
A total of 2,486 officials consisting of finance ministers, government officials working in fields related to infrastructure development of developing countries, CEOs of private businesses, officials of international organizations and the academia have signed up to attend the three-day annual conference until Saturday, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
South Korea’s newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister cum Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon will attend the forum, marking his first international event as the chief of the nation’s economic policies, the ministry said.
The 2017 AIIB meeting is also to be the first international debut stage for the new Moon Jae-in administration, in light of strained diplomatic and economic ties with China over the previous government’s decision to host the US anti-missile defense system here.
Among the prestigious delegates are AIIB President Jin Liqun, Chinese Finance Minister Xiao Jie, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Georgia Finance Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili, who also represents the vice-chair country of the conference.
Also to be present are: Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Somdy Douangdy; Indonesia‘s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who previously served as managing director of the World Bank; Australia’s Minister for Small Business Michael McCormack; and Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayebnia.
In the banking sector, KDB Chairman Lee Dong-geol, CEO of Shinhan Bank Wi Sung-ho, Woori Bank CEO Lee Kwang-goo and more will also head down to Jeju for the event over the weekend.
Major local companies related to infrastructure -- including Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Samsung C&T, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and local mobile carrier KT-- will also take part in the event to introduce their technology and capacity.
The China-led AIIB is an international financial institution made up of 77 member countries.
By Kim Bo-gyung (
lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)
