Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that New Delhi will extend it’s “full support” to the newly launched China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Founding members include the BRICS, half of the European Union and all of the Asian bloc, ASEAN.
The Bank’s president-elect Jin Liqun on Monday met Modi in New Delhi.
“The Prime Minister assured that as the Founding Member of the AIIB and the second largest shareholder in the Bank, India would extend full support for the success of the Bank,” said a statement posted on the Prime Minister’s Office website.
BRICS members, China, India and Russia are the three largest shareholders, taking a 30.34 per cent, 8.52 per cent, 6.66 per cent stake, respectively. Their voting shares are calculated at 26.06 per cent, 7.5 per cent and 5.92 per cent.
Maiden meetings of the board of the mammoth China-led lender, a $100 billion multilateral development bank will be held in Beijing from January 16-18.
Both the BRICS Bank and the AIIB must focus on infrastructure development in the region, Modi urged.
“The Prime Minister expressed confidence that AIIB along with the BRICS New Development Bank would play an instrumental role in development of infrastructure in the Asia region. In this context, he highlighted the need for focus on roads, rail and ports for enhancing regional connectivity; creating climate-resilient infrastructure and clean energy initiatives for sustainable development, that would also enhance the economic development and lift millions of people out of the life of impoverishment,” the statement added.
In New Delhi, Jin also met India’s top finance officials including the Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.
“AIIB will become operational this month. Will be a good source of funding for infrastructure projects in India… Had very positive meeting with the president-designate of AIIB,” Das tweeted.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will attend high-profile events to mark the opening of the AIIB on Saturday.
The bank’s president will be officially appointed and the management team will be instituted during the meetings.
The China-led development bank was formally established in Beijing on 25 December.
The new lender is expected to name its first lending projects in mid-2016.
The China-backed multilateral development institution is tasked with financing infrastructure development across Asia.
With an authorized capital of $100 billion, the AIIB will finance infrastructure projects like the construction of roads, railways, and airports in the Asia-Pacific Region.
The ADB has estimated that in the next decade Asian countries will need $8 trillion in infrastructure investments to maintain the current economic growth rate.
The AIIB will extend China’s financial reach and compete not only with the World Bank, but also with the Asian Development Bank, which is heavily dominated by Japan.
The Banks’ board of directors and executive council will meet for the first time later this weekend in Beijing.
Despite the opposition of Washington, Philippines, a major US ally in the region, has joined the new lender.
The US and Japan have not applied for the membership in the AIIB.
The bank, headquartered in Beijing, now has 57 members, that includes Germany, France, Italy, and the UK.