Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrived in Beijing Friday to attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Finance Minister will also hold meetings with heads of other banking and financing institutions.
Soon after his arrival, the Minister had interactive sessions with leading Chinese print and electronic news media. He shared his views on the prospects of AIIB, the significance the bank for Pakistan as well as the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the realm of finance and economy. Minister Ishaq Dar also spoke about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and its potential to transform the entire region.
Talking to Chinese media Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that, while some countries were initially skeptical about AIIB''s role, yet Pakistan firmly believed from the very onset that AIIB would play a complementary role and it is a matter of satisfaction for us that AIIB is now a reality.
He said that keeping in view the appetite and demand for infrastructure development in this region, AIIB''s potential to bridge the need and supply gap of fund needed for infrastructure development in this region is tremendous. Since the signing of AIIB MoU to that of articles of agreement, the process has been fairly positive and transparent and international best practices have been followed. The process has taken a number of rounds on consultations.