AIIB's first four loans for Asian countries were announced during the first annual meeting of AIIB held on June 25 in Beijing.

 

Issues like infrastructure construction, green finance and the role multilateral banks play in development were explored at the first annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), held on June 25 in Beijing.
 

AIIB President Jin Liqun reported on the bank’s progress during its first six months of operation, noting the approval of the AIIB’s first four loans for power, transport and urban investments in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Tajikistan totaling $509 million.

Cooperation among multilateral development banks should be based on a well-designed legal and supervisory mechanism, said Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which co-financed the project in Tajikistan. As the framework becomes increasingly honed through cooperation, it will facilitate investment in infrastructure, he said.
 

D. J. Pandian, the vice-president and chief investment officer of AIIB, said the AIIB is intended to address the lack of investment in infrastructure. The project in Tajikistan satisfied the investment requirements and strategy of AIIB and EBRD, providing an opportunity for cooperation between the two banks to improve infrastructure in Central Asia, he said.
 

Member states of the AIIB have different economic conditions, cultures and social systems, said Stefán Skjaldarson, ambassador of Iceland to China. The AIIB has played a significant role in establishing a valuable international platform where the underdeveloped countries may receive loans at the most favorable conditions possible, he said.

 

 

Zhao Yuan is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.