FRANKFURT, Germany—The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Monday agreed to jointly finance projects in the road and water sectors.
ADB President Takehiko Nakao and AIIB President Liqun Jin signed a memorandum of understanding (MOA) here on Monday on the sidelines of the ADB’s 49th Annual Meeting of the Board
of Governors.
The first of the projects that will be cofinanced by the ADB and AIIB is Pakistan’s M4 highway project, which costs $300 million. M4 is a 64-kilometer stretch of motorway connecting Shorkot to Khanewal in Punjab Province.
The 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,” Nakao said.
“The ADB has been working closely with AIIB throughout its establishment process. We will further strengthen our cooperation in promoting sustainable growth, reducing poverty and combatting climate change in the region,” he added.
For his part, Jin said he welcomes AIIB’s collaboration with the ADB.
“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,” he said.
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.
Manila-based ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration.
Established in 1966, the ADB in December 2016 will mark 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2015 ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including cofinancing of $10.7 billion.
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.