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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury announced that the Kingdom has became a founding member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The decision to join the new bank is due to the Kingdom's belief in the need to support development projects in developing countries.

Fakhoury said that the AIIB is a modern knowledge-based institution which focuses on the development of infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia, including energy and power, transportation and telecommunications, rural infrastructure and agriculture development, water supply and sanitation, environmental protection, urban development and logistics.

Being a founding member, Jordan will provide a multilateral regional financing and investment platform for infrastructure development and improvement.

Joining the AIIB will also provide expertise, technical aid and be advantageous when it comes to applying for soft loans, in light of the challenges that Jordan is facing, as well as deepening regional cooperation and integration with Asian countries with similar interests.

The bank will seek to enhance social and economic development and meet the needs of the region to advance its infrastructure and improve its ability to face financial crises and external challenges by boosting cooperation and integration among the region's countries.

A total of 57 countries have applied to be founding members for the Beijing-backed financial institution, including major powers such as Britain, Germany, South Korea and Russia, according to China’s finance ministry.

The bank was proposed by China in 2013 and launched at a ceremony in Beijing in October 2014. The Articles of Agreement (AOA) would be finalized and open for signature by member states in June 2015. The AOA is expected to enter into force and AIIB to be fully established by the end of 2015.

Jordan will be actively participating in the meetings of lead negotiators of founding countries.

Meanwhile, "Jordan's economic Vision 2025" stressed the need to boost private-public sector partnership to implement capital projects, especially those targeting infrastructure. Jordan's participation in regional and international financing institutions such as the AIIB, will provide privileged funding for investment projects, as well as financial aid and soft loans for infrastructure projects.

Such projects will contribute to increasing the Kingdom's competitiveness and enable the government to provide better services to citizens, investors and various economic sectors.

*Petra