The Egyptian Ambassador to China is to attend the signing of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) agreement, Minister of International Cooperation Nagla Al-Ahwani told Daily News Egypt Saturday. A meeting will be held in China's capital, Beijing, with the presence of representatives from the 57 founding members of the bank next Monday to sign a convention on the bank, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. "Egypt has requested to join the AIIB and is currently a founding member at the bank," Al-Ahwani said. In mid-April, Egypt received the official approval to join the China-backed bank, whereby, before the final approval was confirmed, China had welcomed the country's request. The final decision, however, was in the hands of its approved founders, including China, India, Singapore, Italy, and the UK, amongst others. By becoming a founding member, Egypt will gain noticeable benefits, particularly as the country's main needs are in infrastructure development, which will require billions of dollars in investments. Egypt will receive concessional loans and investments in this particularly needed area, Fakhry Elfiky, Professor of Economics at Cairo University and former assistant to the executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), previously told Daily News Egypt. Initial capital for the bank is to reach $50bn, and the amount is expected to double in the future. The main purpose of the bank, as its name stands, is that it will provide loans and investments in infrastructure to underdeveloped Asian countries. Elfiky added: "Member countries will benefit by receiving infrastructure investments from the AIIB."
