Contribution to AIIB
On June 15, South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon met with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun before this year’s annual general meeting of the AIIB in Jeju, South Korea. There, the South Korean government agreed to invest US$8 million in the AIIB Project Preparation Special Fund within this year.
The purpose of the fund established in June last year is to provide assistance during the early stage of infrastructure projects in emerging countries. At present, South Korea is the second-largest investor in the fund behind China, which has promised to provide US$50 million.
During their meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister asked the AIIB to work more closely with South Korean enterprises and manpower interested in working for the AIIB. “I am sure that South Korean companies’ technological strength and wide networks will contribute greatly to the AIIB’s development projects,” he mentioned.
The AIIB President said in response that he deeply appreciates South Korea’s donation and the Korea Water Resources Corporation’s hydroelectric power generation project in Nenskra, Georgia, which is scheduled to be approved by the AIIB in the second half of this year, will be a starting point of the bank’s full-scale cooperation with South Korean companies and manpower. The project, worth a total of US$1 billion, is the first AIIB project South Korea participates in. The total investment in the project is divided into US$120 million from the Korea Water Resources Corporation, US$87 million from the AIIB, US$150 million from the Asian Development Bank, etc.