ADB, AIIB agree to identify projects for cofinancing

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao and Liqun Jin, President-Designate of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), met today in the offices of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat of AIIB in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), to discuss deepening cooperation between the two institutions, said the message of the ADB posted on its website.

During the meeting, Liqun thanked Nakao for ADB’s support for the AIIB Multilateral Interim Secretariat since their first meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, during ADB’s 48^th Annual Meeting in May 2015, particularly in the preparation of AIIB’s operational policies including procurement and environment and social safeguards.

They renewed their commitment to working together for the development of Asia, and agreed to start the process to identify ADB’s future projects that AIIB may be able to cofinance.

“ADB will be happy to share with AIIB our long experience and expertise in the region, including support for regional cooperation and integration, sustainable and inclusive development, and climate change adaptation and mitigation,” Nakao said.

“AIIB appreciates ADB’s support in this formative phase of its development. We look forward to working together with ADB and other development partners to deliver timely and efficient financing to meet critical infrastructure demand in the Asia Region,” Liqun responded.

During their earlier meeting in May, they acknowledged the large infrastructure gap in the region, the critical role of infrastructure in supporting sustainable development and poverty reduction, and the importance of strong policies to ensure the environmental and social sustainability of projects.

ADB was founded in 1966 and has 67 members. The bank's headquarters is located in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Azerbaijan became ADB member on December 22, 1999. The country's share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.

ADB's leading shareholders are Japan and the United States (31.2 percent of the total share capital), India and China (12.8 percent), Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 percent) and so on.

Since the beginning of cooperation, the Asian Development Bank has allocated over $1.6 billion to Azerbaijan to implement the projects in the sphere of road construction, energy, irrigation, improving water supply and sewerage systems.

An agreement on AIIB establishment was signed in Beijing in June. The agreement was signed by the bank’s 57 founding members, including Azerbaijan. Officially, the bank will begin its work by the end of the year. The company's headquarters is located in Beijing.

The Azerbaijani government officially expressed interest in becoming one of the AIIB founders March 31, 2015. In April, Azerbaijan was confirmed as one of the countries that joined AIIB.

AIIB’s authorized capital is $100 billion. The share of regional members of the bank will hit 75 percent. China will be the largest shareholder of the bank. Its share is 29.78 percent of the voting shares. Azerbaijan's share in the bank's capital will hit 0.25 percent. Some $254.1 million will be invested in their purchase.

Currently, 1.6 percent of the bank's shares remain undistributed.

/By Trend/