ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK STATES ITS INTEREST IN MONGOLIA DURING A SILK ROAD FORUM
During the Benefit of the Silk Road Initiative Forum organized in Beijing, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) reiterated its interest in being involved in infrastructure projects being implemented in Mongolia.
A delegation headed by Minister of Roads and Transportation Development D.Ganbat participated in the forum. On the sidelines of the forum, Minister D.Ganbat met with the AIIB's General Director of Investment, as well as the President of the Silk Road Fund, Wang Yanzhi. D.Ganbat stated, “The decision by the Chinese government to establish the Silk Road Fund in order to invest in the infrastructure sector in Southeast Asian countries and other regions, and to promote development in energy and manufacturing, has played an important role in the cooperation and integration between many countries.”
In the last year, AIIB has invested 1.7 billion USD in projects. Mongolia has contributed 41.14 million USD to the fund, 0.3 percent of the fund's assets, but has yet to receive financing for any projects.
During the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit held in Tashkent, the Russian, Chinese, and Mongolian heads of state met and approved the project to implement an economic corridor running through the three countries. The agreement stated that 32 projects will be implemented for the economic corridor. Eight of the 32 projects will focus on the construction of railway networks. Mongolia will be implementing several railway projects under this agreement. This includes the Tavantolgoi-Gashuunsukhait railway and the Khuut-Bichigt railway.
The projects are set to play an important role in the social and economic cooperation between the three countries. The railway projects are at the center of efforts to link the three countries and develop road and infrastructure systems. Mongolian representatives attending the forum said that Mongolia will cooperate with Russia and China in furthering the economic corridor iniative by working to develop economic cooperation and the infrastructure system.