The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will cooperate with the private sector in Azerbaijan, whenever possible, to invest in infrastructure projects which meet the bank’s mandate, strategy and standard, a source in AIIB reported.
The source added that mobilizing private capital was one of AIIB’s priority.
“AIIB is interested in financing infrastructure investment projects in Azerbaijan which are financially sustainable, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable,” said the source.
There are many infrastructure development areas where the bank and Azerbaijan can cooperate with each other, such as transportation, energy and power, urban development, rural development etc, according to AIIB.
“Azerbaijan is a founding member of AIIB. We thank Azerbaijan’s strong support to the bank and believe Azerbaijan will play an important role in promoting infrastructure development and connectivity in the region,” said the source.
Regarding the prospects of opening AIIB’s representative office in Azerbaijan, the source noted that currently, the bank didn’t have such plans.
Earlier, Ruslan Rustamli, head of the department for cooperation with international organizations at Azerbaijan’s Economy Ministry, said that the ministry was ready to mull the opening of an office of AIIB in Azerbaijan after expansion of the bank’s activities in the country.
AIIB, which was created in June 2015, is a multilateral financial institution founded to bring countries together to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia.
Azerbaijan’s share in the bank’s capital is $254.1 million or 0.2761%. (Trend/Business World Magazine)