- the President of the People's Republic of China has proposed to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to ensure regional cooperation for sustainable economic and social development in Asia as well as to strengthen regional resilence against potential financial crises and Sri Lanka has been officially invited to join the said bank as a founder member. Sri Lanka is a founder member of two largest multilateral development financing institutions, i.e., the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Establishment of the AIIB will help to mobilize the much needed additional resources from inside and outside Asia, remove the financing bottlenecks faced by the individual economies in Asia and complement the existing multilateral development banks to promote sustained and stable growth in Asia. 22 countries across the region have indicated their willingness to join the said bank as founder members. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, to proceed with the related activities pertaining to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the AIIB, was approved by the Cabinet.