HONG KONG, Dec. 13 -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) recently established by China is very timely and will be beneficial to the nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand's former deputy prime minister Korn Dabbaransi said here Saturday.

In an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the first ASEAN Development Forum held in Hong Kong, Dabbaransi hailed China's initiative to create the AIIB as "quite timely," saying that the AIIB will facilitate trade among land-linked ASEAN countries in need of road improvement. "It is a very good international financial institution whose financial facilities land-linked ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia could make use of," Dabbaransi said.

He believed that after the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is accomplished in 2015, the trade volume between the land-linked ASEAN nations will increase substantially as countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore will be able to utilize the financial facilities provided by the bank to improve the road connection among them.

A total of 21 Asian countries inked in October a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the AIIB with an expected initial subscribed capital of 50 billion U.S. dollars.

AIIB, with Beijing as its headquarters, serves as an inter- governmental regional development institution in Asia.

Dabbaransi, meanwhile, underlined that the operation of AEC should not only be confined to ASEAN territories but be extended beyond its borders.

The challenge for ASEAN is how the AEC could extend beyond its borders to connect with countries including China, India, Japan and South Korea, he said. "We should not stop at AEC, we should also go beyond our borders. "

According to the former deputy prime minister, inter-trade value among Asian countries has exceeded 60 percent of the total trade value in the Asian region.

He is confident that the AEC of 10 nations, with more convenient road network, would elevate inter-Asian trade volume to an even higher level.

Dabbaransi said that Thailand welcomes China's 21th Century Maritime Silk Road initiative which will be of great benefit to ASEAN if the bloc capitalizes on this golden opportunity.

"Thailand supports China's initiative to build the 21th Century Maritime Silk Road. The kingdom has prepared itself to be in connectivity with two new ports, one in China's Guangxi province and another in Guangdong."

Speaking of China-Thailand relations, Dabbaransi said The Thai people know very well about the saying "China and Thailand are brothers." The belief, which is rooted deep in the heart of every Thai people, is a true reflection of the profound friendship between the two countries.

He also expressed the hope that cooperation between Thailand and China will be enhanced in all aspects including trade, culture, education and sports.

As the chairman of Thai-Chinese Friendship Association, Dabbaransi laid particular emphasis on the people-to-people connection which in his view should be reinforced "to ensure peace and prosperity for all of us."

The first ASEAN Development Forum, with the theme"Building Mutual Trust and a Community of Common Destiny", was attended by government officials, experts, scholars and business people from the 10 ASEAN countries as well as China.