A three member
delegation of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) led by Vice
President, Mr D. J. Pandian called on Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad
Ishaq Dar here on Monday.
Talking to the delegation the Minister said
Pakistan is among the founding members of AIIB and has been a strong supporter
of the idea of establishment of another multilateral institution to complement
the efforts of the existing institutions, in the Asian region. He said
that the Asian region faced a huge deficit in infrastructure and required
substantial investments to fill the gaps. He
appreciated AIIB's co-financing for M-4 Gojra-Shorkot Motorway and
Tarbela -V Hydropower Project in Pakistan. He described it as a good beginning
in Pak-AIIB cooperation. He said Pakistan eagerly looks forward to forging
a strong partnership with AIIB aimed at strengthening efforts for
infrastructure development.
AIIB Vice President stated that Pakistan has been an
active member of the Bank and was also selected to be the recipient of
the first financing by AIIB. He said that the projects presented by Pakistan
for future financing include a number of very important projects and the Bank
would like to finance some of them based on further discussion with the
relevant officials. He said that the visit of AIIB Board of Directors(BOD) to
Pakistan will also give both the sides an opportunity to discuss various
matters in greater detail. The Minister said that the government looks forward
to the visit of the BOD.
The delegation it may be mentioned is visiting Pakistan currently to
explore opportunities for investment in different areas.
Senior officials of the Ministry of Finance attended the
meeting.
