BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 16. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) plans to double its lending volume over the next five years, Sherard Cowper-Coles, Vice President of the AIIB, said, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.

He made the remark during the 8th SDG Dialogue titled ""Innovative Financing for Sustainable Development, Beyond Aid and Traditional ODA," held as part of the Annual Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group in Baku.

"Over the next five years, we plan to double our lending volume. We are very proud that last year, 70 percent of our financing went toward green projects. We have 111 member countries, and a number of states from Africa and Latin America are seeking to join the bank, whose mission is to connect Asia within itself and with the rest of the world," he said.

According to him, it is essential to introduce innovations, utilize blended finance mechanisms, mobilize private capital, and deploy digital financial instruments.

"We must remember that infrastructure is not just about concrete, roads, ports, and bridges. It is also about digital infrastructure, healthcare infrastructure, educational infrastructure, and the operating systems of a modern economy and a developed society — everything that ensures the functioning of human communities and modern civilization," Cowper-Coles said.