The initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping to develop the infrastructure of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) member states worldwide is "in the right direction," said Mashiur Rahmanan, an economic adviser to the Bangladeshi prime minister.

Rahman commended Xi's speech made Tuesday via video link at the opening ceremony of the fifth annual meeting of the multilateral development bank, as the Beijing-based development bank is keen to support more member states in mobilizing fast financing for their infrastructure projects.

The Chinese leader called for making the AIIB a new platform that promotes development for all its members and facilitates the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi called for efforts to make the AIIB a new type of multilateral development bank that promotes development across the world, a new type of development platform progressing with the times, a new type of high-performance institution for international cooperation and a new paradigm of multilateral cooperation.

"President Xi's speech at AIIB annual meeting ... strike the right note of inspiration," said Rahman.

Bangladesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was among the countries which encouraged the setting up of the AIIB and is a founding member, he said.

"It (Bangladesh) will benefit immensely from AIIB's operation," Rahman noted, adding that several crucial Bangladeshi projects have already been implemented with AIIB funding.

Noting that developing countries are facing a shortage of infrastructures, the adviser said that regional trades will also pick up to a large extent if infrastructure problems can be resolved through the AIIB in the near future.

The AIIB, proposed by Xi in late 2013, was officially launched in January 2016.

From the 57 founding members to today's membership of 102 spanning the six continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania, the AIIB has grown from strength to strength and provided nearly 20 billion U.S. dollars in infrastructure investment to its members.

Source: Xinhua