Najam Speaks at the 10th Anniversary Meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Professor Adil Najam participated in a plenary panel for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, China. The event was a part of a two-day special seminar held between June 24 and June 26, marking the 10th anniversary meeting of the bank’s board of governors. Najam was invited to speak about gender and development, a topic aligning with this year’s theme “Connecting for Development, Collaborating for Prosperity.” He was joined by fellow panelist Mari Kiviniemi, deputy secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and former Prime Minister of Finland.
Najam reminded the panel audience that the event coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Women’s Conference—applauding the major strides made in gender development while acknowledging that there are more crucial objectives to be achieved. As true allies of the cause, he said, we should refrain from viewing gender as an afterthought in development and must assign it a core value while conceptualizing projects.
Additionally, Najam warned that using gender integration as a mere slogan is a recipe for failure. The professor remarked that to unlock the true potential of developmental goals, we should discard such superficial interpretations and instead treat gender integration as a long-term commitment. Likewise, he emphasized that dignity and respect should be at the forefront of every initiative to champion gender equality in development.
Headquartered in Beijing, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development fiscal institution, primarily focusing on sustainable development and regional connectivity across Asia and beyond. With over 100 members, AIIB is one of the largest MDBs by membership. In less than a decade, it has approved more than 200 projects across 33 countries, mobilized over $2.4 billion in private capital in 2022, and surpassed its climate finance target three years ahead of schedule, with 56% of its 2022 financing dedicated to climate mitigation and adaptation.
Professor Adil Najam is the dean emeritus at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and an authority on international relations, climate action, and South Asian politics. Besides Pardee, he has taught at MIT and Tufts University and is currently serving as the president of WWF International. He was a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford’s Wolfson College and was named the first De Janosi Fellow at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. A prolific writer, Najam has authored more than 100 academic papers and published eight books including South Asia 2060: Envisioning Regional Futures (2013) and How Immigrants Impact their Homelands (2013). To know more about his work and accomplishments, visit his faculty profile.