World Bank, AIIB sign MoU to enhance cooperation

The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) today signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation and knowledge sharing between the two institutions.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and Beijing-based AIIB President Jin Liqun provides an overall framework for cooperation between the two institutions in common areas of interest, including development financing, staff exchanges and analytical and sector work.
It paves the way for the two institutions to further enhance coordination at the regional and country levels.
"The World Bank Group has worked closely with our partners at the AIIB since its inception," Kim said.

"We're already financing projects together from Azerbaijan to Indonesia, and I'm delighted to further strengthen our partnership. Collaboration between development institutions is essential to make the best use of scarce resources, crowd in the private sector, and meet the rising aspirations of the people we serve," he said.
After the World Bank and AIIB had signed a co-financing framework agreement for investment projects, the two have co- financed five projects, supporting power generation in Pakistan, a natural gas pipeline in Azerbaijan, slum upgrading, dam safety and regional infrastructure development in Indonesia.

The two institutions are discussing more projects to be co-financed in 2017 and 2018, a statement said.

Also the AIIB and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, have co-invested in a power sector project in Myanmar and are discussing additional potential projects.
"It deepens our relationship with the World Bank Group and sets up the mechanisms through which we can more easily collaborate and share information. We place a high value on our partnerships because by working together, we greatly increase our potential for positive outcomes in Asia," Jin said.
In 2015, the World Bank and Multilateral Interim Secretariat for the Establishment of AIIB signed a memorandum of understanding for overall cooperation and knowledge exchange, which ended when AIIB was formally established.