The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) board will discuss a request to fund a number of Egyptian projects in infrastructure—operating in the new and renewable energy sector in September, according to Amr El-Garhy, the Minister of Finance and Egypt’s governor at AIIB.
The main purpose of the bank is providing loans and investments in infrastructure to underdeveloped Asian countries.
During his speech at the opening session of the board of governors meeting that was recently held in South Korea, the minister stressed the importance of the AIIB’s role in financing infrastructure projects in the member countries as one of the most important mechanisms to attract private investment and improve the business environment. He also said that it is imperative that the bank focuses on projects in the field of energy and linking member countries to enhance trade and investment flows.
El-Garhy pointed out that the success of the bank contributed to successful increases in the number of members of the bank as a new batch was accepted to increase that number to 77 countries, including 43 Asian nations and the rest from outside Asia, which reflects the desire of many countries of the world to benefit from the services of the bank and its financing for the development of the infrastructure sector.
On the other hand, El-Garhy held some meetings with senior officials in South Korea and a number of AIIB’s member states included a meeting with the Korean minister of finance, where he discussed ways to boost bilateral relations and activating the strategic dialogue between the ministry of finance of both sides—especially on the financial and fiscal policy level.
Furthermore, the two sides agreed on exchange technical and human expertise and benefit from the Korean expertise in the field of automation and information systems and systems of online payment and collection.
The Egyptian Minister of Finance added that he agreed with the Korean minister on the importance of organising a number of reciprocal visits to the cadres of the finance ministries of both countries, especially tax and customs directorate experts, to enhance mutual cooperation.
It is worth mentioning that the AIIB has allocated $10-15bn over the next five to six years for infrastructure projects in the countries where it has operations, including Egypt.
