Baku, Azerbaijan, May 3
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Takehiko Nakao, Asian Development Bank (ADB) president and Liqun Jin, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) president signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the sidelines of ADB's 49th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors, ADB said.
The agreement sets the stage for jointly financing projects. ADB and AIIB are already discussing projects for cofinancing in the road and water sectors. The first of these projects is expected to be Pakistan's M4 highway project, a 64-kilometer stretch of motorway connecting Shorkot to Khanewal in Punjab Province.
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.
Through cofinancing, knowledge work, and joint policy dialogue with member countries, the two institutions will work together in the areas including 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.
Established in 1966, the Asian Development Bank has 67 members. Azerbaijan became an ADB member on Dec. 22, 1999. The country's share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.
ADB has been assisting Azerbaijan since 1999 with approved loan and grant projects totaling about $2.6 billion, including private sector transactions worth about $738 million, as of end 2015.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
Japan and the US (31.2 percent of the total capital), India and China (12.8 percent), Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 percent) are ADB's main shareholders.
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.
The objectives of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are to promote the economic development and cooperation in Asia by investing in infrastructure and other productive sectors.
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.