Interview: AIIB becomes active player in promoting global economy - Kazakh expert

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has become a very active and promising player for the development and modernization of the global and regional economy, a senior Kazakh expert told Xinhua in a recent interview, Xinhua reports.

Tasked with promoting the implementation of big infrastructure projects as one of the largest financial institutions, the AIIB has a broad representation of more than 100 members and its authorized capital stands at 100 billion U.S. dollars, said Vyacheslav Dodonov, chief researcher at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies.

In Kazakhstan, the AIIB has financed the construction of a wind farm in the northern Zhambyl Region and approved a loan of 750 million dollars to support the country in the fight against COVID-19.

«Lending to projects in green energy is highly important for the development and diversification of the country's energy system and benefits the Kazakh economy,» said Dodonov.

He added that the anti-epidemic fund provided by the AIIB and the Asian Development Bank plays a vital role in stabilizing the national economy as falling prices in world commodity markets and the COVID-19 lockdown send shockwaves throughout the country.

As Kazakhstan currently carries out a large-scale anti-crisis policy, the AIIB loans provide means to overcome the challenges facing the Kazakh economy, said the expert.

While the world economy is experiencing the biggest shock since the Great Depression in the 1930s, Dodonov said, the funding gap to overcome the pandemic has been growing especially in some emerging markets due to the withdrawal of Western investors.

Against this backdrop, the AIIB has a promising prospect in post-COVID-19 era, as it will help developing countries shake off the coronavirus impacts and unleash potential for their development, he added.