Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the high-profile launch of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is becoming operational from this week.
Top Chinese leadership will be present at the opening ceremony, scheduled to take place in Beijing on Saturday. AIIB will be a source of funding for infrastructure projects in Pakistan and other regional countries.
The finance minister is expected to avail the opportunity to brief the Chinese leaders about the implementation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
Agreement on AIIB was signed by 57 prospective founding members including Pakistan in June last year on the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
With authorised capital of $100 billion, the AIIB will initially prioritize investment in energy, power generation, transportation, rural infrastructure, environmental protection and logistics.
AIIB President Jin Liqun has expressed interest in financing infrastructure projects in Pakistan in various sectors including energy, transport, seaports and urban development.
During his recent meeting with Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, the AIIB president had praised Pakistan’s rich potential in infrastructure sector.
According to Liqun, the bank was looking forward to closer cooperation with Pakistan’s public and private sectors.
The bank’s officials will be visiting Pakistan soon to discuss collaboration in different projects. It will work with other world institutions, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to achieve the objective of progress and prosperity.
According to sources in the Finance Ministry, Chinese banks are already financing the projects under CPEC. AIIB, on the other hand, will meet about 70 per cent of the infrastructure funding needs of Asia.
Pakistan signed the articles of agreement (AoA) of the AIIB during a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in June last year.
