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ADB, AIIB co-finance $300m for Pakistani project
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) forged a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday on the sidelines of the ADB’s 49th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors. (Antara/Antara)
A
sian Development Bank (ADB) president Takehiko Nakao and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) president Liqun Jin signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday on the sidelines of the ADB’s 49th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors.
The agreement sets the stage for joint financing in road and water projects .
The first of these projects is expected to be Pakistan’s M4 highway project, a 64-kilometer stretch of road connecting Shorkot to Khanewal in Punjab Province.
The project will cost US$300 million that will be equally shared between the two regional development banks, Nakao said.
ADB and AIIB agreed to strengthen cooperation, including cofinancing at the strategic and technical levels, on the basis of complementarity, value added, institutional strengths and comparative advantages and mutual benefit, the MoU states.
“I am very pleased to have this framework of collaboration with a new and strong partner in Asia,” said Nakao.
“ADB has been working closely with AIIB throughout its establishment process. We will further strengthen our cooperation in promoting sustainable growth, reducing poverty and combating climate change in the region.”
Through cofinancing, knowledge work, and joint policy dialogue with member countries, the two institutions will work together in the areas of energy, transportation, telecommunications, rural and agriculture development, water, urban development, and environmental protection.
The two institutions will undertake regular high-level consultations and joint data collection to promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the COP21 climate agreement.
“I am delighted to take a further step forward in our partnership with ADB,” Jin said.
“AIIB looks forward to deepening our already strong relationship and expanding our collaboration as we seek to address the significant infrastructure financing needs in the Asia region.”
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration.
It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including $10.7 billion of cofinancing.
AIIB, located in Beijing, is a multilateral development bank that focuses on the development of infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia, including energy and power, transportation and telecommunications, rural infrastructure and agriculture development, water supply and sanitation, environmental protection, urban development and logistics. (dmr)
