Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun and United Kingdom (UK) Chancellor of the Exchequer Rt Hon Philip Hammond have signed an agreement for the UK to contribute US$50 million to AIIB’s Project Preparation Special Fund which provides grant support primarily to low income developing member countries to prepare high quality projects.

"I wish to extend our sincere thanks to the UK government for their strong support for AIIB", said President Jin. "These additional resources will help our low-income member countries to prepare projects that will meet AIIB’s standards. This will result in more projects that are financially viable, environmentally sustainable and welcomed by local communities."

Chancellor Hammond said, "The UK strongly supports the AIIB's vital mission to address the infrastructure gap in Asia. I am very pleased to confirm our US$50 million contribution to the AIIB Special Fund, which will help the low-income countries that most need our joint assistance to prepare credible project proposals so they can access finance from the Bank."

The AIIB Project Preparation Special Fund was established in June 2016. China and the Republic of Korea committed US$ 50 million and US$ 8 million respectively. The Fund is open for more contributions.

Recently the Bank approved two special fund projects which include US$ 1 million to Nepal to prepare an urban infrastructure investment project and US$ 700,000 to Sri Lanka to prepare a solid waste management project.

About AIIB

AIIB is a multilateral development bank founded to bring countries together to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia. Headquartered in Beijing, AIIB commenced its operations in January 2016 and has now grown to 80 approved members from around the world. Its mission is to improve economic and social development in Asia by investing in high quality, financially viable and environmentally friendly infrastructure projects.