Lula talks infrastructure partnership with Asian bank

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met on Monday (Mar. 4) with the president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Jin Liqun. According to the Chinese executive, the institution has no capital restrictions and is ready to provide a large amount of resources “to boost Brazil’s economic and social development.”

“As long as we have good projects, we will provide funding. We want large-scale projects,” Liqun said in a press statement after the meeting. He cited major infrastructure projects, including initiatives on increasing the connection between the west of the continent and the Pacific Ocean, as well as efforts on adaptation to climate change.

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The executive’s speech is in line with President Lula’s plan to promote greater integration in South America and alternative trade routes. Last week, on a trip to Guyana, the Brazilian leader unveiled the South American Integration Routes plan to representatives of neighboring governments.

The Brazilian president wrote about his meeting with Jin Liqun on social media. “We talked about the New PAC [Growth Acceleration Program] and the possibility of expanding AIIB’s investments and contributions to economic, social, and sustainable development in our country,” he stated.

Liqun said the bank has so far developed three projects in Brazil, adding up to 350 million dollars, which he described as “very little.” “We promise to do more to improve connectivity with Asia, which could be a great partner for Brazil in the coming decades,” said the AIIB representative, adding he is also willing to work with state governments and the private sector on smaller projects. “For big projects, with an impact, we should work with the federal government,” he went on to say.

According to the AIIB president, no specific projects were discussed at the meeting today, just plans for long-term cooperation, also in close partnership with the New Development Bank (NDB), known as the BRICS bank.

The president of the BRICS bank, Dilma Rousseff, and Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad attended the meeting.

“[The meeting was] a wonderful opportunity to better understand the government’s economic development agenda, and we promised to carry out broadly defined projects such as infrastructure, roads, railroads, airports, seaports, renewable energies, transmission, and everything that’s important for the country. Our job is to listen and understand what you want this bank to do for you,” said Jin Liqun.

President Lula also spoke with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva – Ricardo Stuckert/PR

IMF

Before the meeting with the Chinese executive, President Lula spoke with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, about “development with social inclusion and the resumption of poverty reduction in the world.”

“We also talked about the necessary reform of the IMF, so that we have an International Monetary Fund that is more representative of today’s world and capable of helping countries that need to turn to the IMF in better conditions,” the president wrote, also on social media.