Finance minister expects AIIB to further support cross-border connectivity

China's Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an said on Wednesday that he hopes that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) can mobilize more resources for cross-border connectivity projects, at the the 10th Annual Meeting of the AIIB's Board of Governors in Beijing.

At the annual meeting running from Tuesday to Thursday, Lan noted that the AIIB first decided in 2020 to make "connectivity and regional cooperation" its strategic priority, saying that this is gradually becoming the AIIB's new comparative advantage among multilateral development banks.

"In 2024, cross-border connectivity projects accounted for 33 percent of the AIIB's total funding, which effectively supported connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region and its economic and trade cooperation with other regions. China looks forward to more vigorous support and measures of the AIIB in mobilizing more resources to support cross-border connectivity," said Lan.

As the AIIB marks its 10th anniversary, the multilateral development bank is playing an increasingly prominent role in advancing connectivity, green growth, and sustainable development across regions.

Founded in 2015, the AIIB has grown from 57 founding members to 110 across six continents, covering 81 percent of the world's population and 65 percent of global GDP.

Over the past decade, it has approved over 60 billion U.S. dollars in financing for 320 projects, leveraging more than 200 billion U.S. dollars in infrastructure investment.

From electrifying rural Bangladesh to building roads in Cote d'Ivoire, the AIIB-supported projects are narrowing infrastructure gaps and improving lives across continents.

Voting in Chile's presidential runoff election opened on Sunday, with leftist candidate Jeannette Jara facing Republican contender Jose Antonio Kast.

According to Chile's Electoral Service, voting began at 08:00 local time (1100 GMT) and will end at 18:00 (2100 GMT) the same day, with more than 15 million registered voters eligible to cast ballots.

In this round of voting, the candidate who receives the most votes will win the election. The president-elect will take office on March 11 next year.

No candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round on Nov. 16, meaning Jara and Kast, who won 26.85 percent and 23.92 percent, respectively, advanced to the runoff.

The two candidates have focused on improving social security, tackling illegal immigration and other issues in a bid to win over voters.