Minister of Economy Ali Tayyebnia is in China to sign the constitution for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on June 29.
Representatives from all 57 founding member states will gather in Beijing for the signing ceremony. AIIB members finalized negotiations on the constitution in May. After the document is formally signed, each country will still have to ratify it, according to their domestic processes.
Upon his arrival in Beijing, Tayyebnia said the signing ceremony would mark a new round of activity for the bank. "The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a founding member of the bank, would work to play an effective role in the infrastructure bank," Mehr News Agency quoted him as saying.
"The infrastructure bank as a development institution could work alongside other active lenders to finance development projects. AIIB will have an effective role in financing infrastructure projects in Asian countries."
Asia's ability to finance infrastructure projects has failed to keep pace with the region's booming needs, but market players are optimistic the AIIB will help plug the gap. The China-led bank is expected to launch with an initial subscribed capital of $50 billion and focus on financing energy, transport, telecommunications and environmental projects.
The US and its ally Japan have stayed away from the bank that is seen as rivaling the US-based World Bank, as well as the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank, led by Europe and Japan, respectively.
For Iran, inclusion in the new development bank is another positive step on the global stage and a move in line with principles of Resistance Economy, a set of guidelines advocated by Iran's Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to decrease the country's reliance on oil exports.
With an imminent nuclear deal expected at the of end of June, sanctions against Iran in recent years will be eased, paving the way for the 80-million-strong country to play a stronger role in world markets.
