07 December 2016 — The Philippine Senate today gave its concurrence to the ratification of the Articles of Agreement (AoA) of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which enables the Philippines to become a full Founding Member of the Bank, one of 57 other Founding Member countries.

The AIIB is a multilateral development bank and currently has 57 member countries, including, among others, all ASEAN states, China, Russia, Germany, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Bank aims to foster economic development and regional connectivity in Asia by promoting infrastructure development in developing countries in the region.  AIIB’s mandate allows it to finance infrastructure projects of member countries in Asia in various areas such as urban development, energy and power, transport and telecommunications, and rural infrastructure and agriculture development.

The Philippines’ membership in the AIIB provides a platform and opportunity for the country to enhance regional cooperation.  More significantly, AIIB will supplement the sources for infrastructure funding such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank (WB), and other multilateral financial institutions to help in the fulfilment of the President’s 10-point socio-economic agenda, and enable the Philippines to improve infrastructure in the country for rapid and inclusive economic growth.

The initiative was formally announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his State Visit to Indonesia in October 2013 and was reiterated by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during the 2013 ASEAN-China Leaders’ Meeting in Brunei Darussalam. 

Following the announcement, bilateral and multilateral discussions and consultations commenced on the core principles and key elements in establishing the AIIB, culminating in the signing of the Articles of Agreement and its ratification by member states. END