Solomon Islands joins China-backed AIIB days after PM snubs Biden invite for Pacific summit at White House

Solomon Islands has joined the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) days after its leader snubbed an invitation to meet US President Joe Biden at a Pacific summit.

The new admissions to the AIIB push the total number of countries that have joined to 109. While most are in Asia, the bank also has members outside the region, such as Britain, France and dozens of African countries, including Algeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Egypt.

Cumulatively, the AIIB has financed more than 200 projects worth US$44 billion since 2016. It is positioning itself as the key financier of climate-related projects, promising in its newly launched climate action plan to allocate at least half of its annual financing approvals to climate finance.

However, a report released by civil society groups on Tuesday said that in seven years the AIIB was yet to accept a single complaint from people adversely affected by its investments.

The study released by Recourse, Inclusive Development International and Accountability Counsel, said nearly half of all AIIB projects were found to be ineligible for the accountability mechanism. Of 219 projects funded by the end of June, 46 per cent (101 projects) were not eligible for consideration.

Read the full article from South China Morning Post here.