President Moon Jae-in met with President Jin Liqun of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) before attending the opening ceremony today of the Annual Meeting of the AIIB Board of Governors. During the meeting, President Moon said that the rapid increase in the number of member countries of the AIIB was attributable to the leadership of the Chinese Government and President Jin Liqun. The President went on to say that it was personally meaningful since this was the first international event he had participated in after his inauguration.

The AIIB President said he was very delighted to see the annual meeting of the AIIB being held outside China for the first time, adding that he was impressed by the beautiful scenery on Jeju Island and impeccable preparations for the conference. He continued to say that, as Korea was the founding member of the bank, the bank also belonged to Korea. Mentioning several high-ranking Korean officials now working at the AIIB, he expressed the hope that an increasing numbers of Koreans would be able to join the bank via an open employment process. On top of this, he also said he hoped Korean businesses would take part in various infrastructure projects in Asian countries.

In reply, President Moon expressed the hope that the AIIB would be able to stand tall as a global multilateral bank with the participation of even more countries and that the strategic partnership between Korea and the AIIB would be deepened further. The President went on to say that Korea experienced rapid growth through investment in infrastructure, adding that it was willing to share its experiences with developing countries in Asia.

Noting that the current AIIB projects were mainly taking place in Southeast and Southwest Asia, the President said that there were also sufficient opportunities in some Northeast Asian regions that lack infrastructure, including Mongolia, the Maritime Province of Russia, Northeast China and North Korea. President Moon, then, said efforts in these areas would lay a solid foundation not only for peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia but also for an economic community in Northeast Asia, adding that Korea would play a responsible role.

The President said Jeju Island was not only beautiful in terms of nature and the environment but it was also unique in culture, expressing the hope that AIIB President Jin would be able to enjoy its landscape, culture and good people during his stay on the island.