Korea urges AIIB to act as development partner, not just lender

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it called on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to move beyond providing finance and act as a development partner that turns member countries' needs into investable projects, as its delegation attended the bank's 11th annual meeting in Doha, Qatar.

The delegation, led by Kang Youn-jin, director general of the ministry's Development Finance Bureau, took part in the meeting held Monday and Tuesday under the theme "Infrastructure for Tomorrow: Impact and Innovation." At a governors' business roundtable on Monday, the ministry said the AIIB should strengthen its role as a development cooperation partner, providing the technical support and expertise members need from project identification and preparation through to financing, and pointed to the bank's newly established Project Preparation Budget Fund as a bridge connecting infrastructure demand in less-developed member countries and Pacific island states to actual financial support. It set out the case against a backdrop of rising borrowing costs and shrinking fiscal room in member countries, arguing that limited development resources need to be used more effectively.

Borrowing members, the ministry added, should act as the drivers of their own development, setting clear priorities and direction during project preparation and taking a leading role in implementation, saying that ownership raises the sustainability of project outcomes.

Donor countries should serve as helpers and advisers, the ministry said, noting that sharing their accumulated development experience and expertise matters more than financial contributions alone.

"Based on Korea's experience of achieving economic development using development finance in the past, we are now sharing our accumulated experience and knowledge with partner countries through the Knowledge Sharing Program," Kang said. "Drawing on that experience, we will contribute actively as the AIIB strengthens its project preparation and technical support capabilities."