Malaysia signs AIIB agreement

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BEIJING: Malaysia, one of the 57 prospective founding members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), has signed the Articles of Agreement (AOA) for the entity here on Aug 21.

In a statement yesterday, the Malaysian Embassy here said Malaysia was among seven countries which did not sign the agreement on June 29.

A total of 50 prospective founding members of the AIIB had signed the agreement then, while six other nations, namely, Denmark, Kuwait, Philippines, Poland, South Africa and Thailand, had yet to sign it.

The statement said Malaysia’s Ambassador to China, Datuk Zainuddin Yahya, signed the agreement on behalf of Malaysia at a brief ceremony held at the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

It said the ceremony was witnessed by Sun Ang, Deputy Director General of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Lv Xia; Deputy Director of the International Financial Institution Division of China’s Ministry of Finance; and, Huan Chen, Chief Officer of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat of the AIIB.

Also present were Deputy Chief of Mission of Malaysian Embassy in China, John K.

Samuel and First Secretary (Political) at the Malaysian Embassy, Mohammed Hosnie Shahiran Ismail, it said.

Zainuddin said apart from conveying Malaysian government’s appreciation to the Chinese government for its strong commitment and leadership in spearheading the establishment of the AIIB, he also gave an assurance to the Chinese side that as a prospective founding member of the AIIB, Malaysia was fully committed in ensuring the smooth operations of the AIIB.

Meanwhile, Sun said the Chinese government was grateful for Malaysia’s contributions and commitment towards the establishment of the AIIB, the statement said.

The AIIB aims to promote infrastructure interoperability and common development in Asia, with the initiative having received overwhelming response.

Earlier, Xinhua News Agency reported the AOA outlined the financial share of each member, policymaking, business and operational systems and governance structure.

The AIIB is designed to finance infrastructure building in Asia.