Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2016-01-20

Obtaining the Membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

- The main intention of establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is to provide financial support for infrastructure development and the regional connectivity, particularly in Asia. Sri Lanka signed the Articles of Association of this Bank on 29th June 2015, in Beijing, China, as a founding member. By now, 57 countries including 37 Asian regional countries and 20 non?regional countries have agreed to render support for this Bank. The authorized capital of the Bank is US$ 100 billion and the regional countries are to contribute 75% of the total capital while the non?regional countries are to contribute the balance 25%. As per the agreement entered into by the founding member countries, each member country will be allocated a share/a quota based on the economy (Gross Domestic Production) of such country. Accordingly, the subscribed contribution allocated for Sri Lanka is US$ 268 million. Based on the proposal submitted by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, the Minister of Finance, the Cabinet granted approval to draft a Bill enabling the Government of Sri Lanka to formally become a member of the AIIB ratifying the above agreement. The approval was also granted to ally with the Group G, the constituency to be led by Indonesia, since Sri Lanka has to ally with a regional country, in order to ensure a representation in the Director Board of the Bank.