Pakistan is among the countries which are getting financial support of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to develop its communication network, said the Bank's President Jin Liqun. The AIIB has approved investment for projects worth over US 5.3 billion dollars since it started operations about two and a half years ago.
According to the President, all the projects are in or connected with countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative. He was addressing the Forum on the Belt and Road Legal Cooperation hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and China Law Society. Multilateral institutions have an important role to play in underpinning the Belt and Road Initiative by offering support in terms of standards, financing, capacity building, environment and social policies, debt sustainability and dispute settlement, he said. Jin said it is gratifying to witness astounding achievements in the Belt and Road Initiative, from conceptualization to tangible results. Meanwhile, the Belt and Road Initiative has increasingly attracted a great deal of attention from all stakeholders regarding policies, governance and standards. It goes without saying there are misunderstandings, even prejudice, about this initiative, said Jin, noting that there was also lots of skepticism and doubts about the establishment of the AIIB in spite of a warm response and support from many countries. "As the Chinese proverb goes, facts are more persuasive than eloquence," Jin said, adding that a spirit of transparency, cooperation and inclusiveness has featured prominently throughout the process of establishing and running the bank over the last two and a half years. He said the AIIB's performance has earned broad praise and recognition from the international community. The AIIB's third annual meeting was held last week in Mumbai with a turnout of around 3,000 participants from across the world.
It is broadly recognized that AIIB represents a multilateral development bank with 21st-century governance, standards, and multilateralism and sound policies governing operations, environmental and social frameworks and procurement, said Jin.