Vietnam signs AIIB agreement in Beijing

Beijing, June 30 (VNA) – Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Van Binh and representatives from other founder countries of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed an agreement on the framework and management structure of the bank on June 29 in Beijing, China. Scheduled to make its debut at the end of this year, AIIB, a multilateral financial institution based in Beijing , will have a total charter capital of 100 billion USD. Currently, the bank has 57 founding members. The bank’s main objectives are to boost sustainable economic growth through investing in regional infrastructure system, focusing on transport, energy, telecommunications, agriculture, the environment and urban development. Speaking to the media in Beijing, the SBV Governor said becoming one of the bank’s founders is in line with Vietnam’s policy of active and responsible international economic integration. Vietnam and other ASEAN countries were the first to support the idea of the AIIB, raised by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the October 2013 APEC summit, and join negotiations for the bank’s establishment, he said. The Governor stated that it shows Vietnam’s willingness and wish to build, maintain and reinforce a favourable environment for the all-round partnership in economy, trade and investment with China. According to Binh, Vietnam needs huge investment for infrastructure through 2020, but domestic resources cannot meet the demand, hence the necessity of mobilising capital from foreign sources. He pointed to the fact that the sources of preferential capital from international financial institutes such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will be cut down as the country has become a middle-income country. Therefore, by joining the AIIB, Vietnam would get access to an important source for infrastructure development, said the Governor. He continued to say the country will pay attention to choosing effective and practical investment projects, ensuring sustainable economic development. The Governor also said as a founding member, Vietnam enjoys certain rights, including having a voice in the building of policies of the bank, or taking up executive positions, thus enhancing the country’s role in the bank./.