AIIB and World Bank reach deal on joint projects, as China-led lender prepares to approve US$1.2 billion of funds this year
‘A sizeable share’ of the Beijing-led bank’s funds expected to go on joint projects organised with US-dominated World Bank after deal agreed in Washington
The Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the US-dominated World Bank – originally seen as rivals – have signed an agreement to co-finance projects.
As part of the deal signed on Thursday – which comes as the AIIB prepares to announce its first batch of loans – the two banks are discussing nearly a dozen jointly financed projects in sectors including transport, water and energy in Central Asia, South Asia, and East Asia.
The AIIB is expected to begin lending from the second quarter of this year, after its high-profile inauguration in January. China’s Asian neighbours, such as Pakistan, are expected to benefit.
The two banks said the AIIB expected to approve US$1.2 billion in funds for development projects this year, with “a sizeable share” expected to go on joint projects with the World Bank.
Jin Liqun ( 金立群 ), president of the AIIB, said the bank was cooperating with both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in approving the first batch of co-financed projects in June.
“I would say a huge amount of chemistry has already been nurtured between the AIIB and the World Bank, the AIIB and the ADB,” Xinhua quoted him as saying at an event hosted by the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington yesterday.