Bangladesh has agreed in principle to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) established by China in early 2014 to invest in infrastructure construction in Asia and promote economic cooperation. Bangladesh Bank recommended Dhaka’s membership in the new regional development bank to improve the country’s poor infrastructure and regional connectivity.

AIIB will have an authorized capital of US$100 billion. China will provide half of the total capital. A trust fund will be created to invest in the infrastructure network of regional countries. The countries signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be the founding members of the bank and the headquarters will be the country of consensus among the AIIB members.

Economic Relations Division Secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin will sign the MOU in October. More than 20 Asian countries, including India and Nepal have shown interest in joining the regional development bank. Bangladesh is also working with Beijing to achieve a regional economic corridor linking Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar.