ISLAMABAD: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Monday expressed willingness to finance some projects presented to the bank by Pakistan.
“The projects presented by Pakistan for future financing include a number of very important projects and the bank would like to finance some of them based on further discussion with the relevant officials,” said Vice President, D J Pandian, who was leading a three-member delegation that called on Finance Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here on Monday.
AIIB Vice President stated that Pakistan had been an active member of the Bank and was also selected to be the recipient of the first financing by AIIB. He said that the visit of AIIB Board of Directors (BOD) to Pakistan would also give both the sides an opportunity to discuss various matters in greater detail.
On the occasion, the minister said that the government looked forward to the visit of the BOD, according to press statement issued by the ministry.
The Minister said Pakistan was among the founding members of AIIB and had been a strong supporter of the idea of establishment of another multilateral institution to complement the efforts of the existing institutions, in the Asian region. He said that the Asian region faced a huge deficit in infrastructure and required substantial investments to fill the gaps.
He appreciated AIIB’s co-financing for M-4 Gojra-Shorkot Motorway and Tarbela -V Hydropower Project in Pakistan. He described it as a good beginning in Pak-AIIB cooperation, adding that Pakistan eagerly looked forward to forging a strong partnership with AIIB aimed at strengthening efforts for infrastructure development.
The delegation was visiting Pakistan currently to explore opportunities for investment in different areas.
