Spotlight: Russian experts see economic, strategic benefits from AIIB membership

Photo taken on Oct. 24, 2014 shows the scene of the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, capital of China. Twenty-first Asian countries that are willing to join AIIB as founding members on Friday signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing AIIB. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

MOSCOW, April 16 (Xinhua) -- As Russiais trying to find its way out of the current economic hardship amid Western sanctions, the country will benefit both economically and strategically from joining the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Russian experts have said.

The prospective founding members of the AIIB finalized at 57 Wednesday, covering five continents, including Asia, Oceania, Europe, Latin America and Africa.

Russia, as one of the prospective founding members, needs the bank from both strategic and practical perspectives, Petr Mozias, an economist from the National Research University's High School of Economics, told Xinhua.

"Russia is interested in attracting more resources for its infrastructure projects. As Russia's budget has been shrinking, it needs to sustain economic growth and to create new sources for that," Mozias said.

He said Russia will benefit from its participation in the AIIB as the bank can offer the country more opportunities in attracting resources for infrastructure projects.

"Strategically, economic development is impossible without long-term investments. Russia, as the world's largest country, craves for investments into infrastructure. Also, geopolitically, Russia and China share common borders, so the two countries can develop joint infrastructural cross-border projects as well as in Central Asia," the expert added.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov addresses the opening ceremony of the 2015 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, March 28, 2015. Shuvalov said Saturday Russia decided to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

Svetlana Krivoruchko, head of the Center for Monetary Policy, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, believed that this is true not only for Russia, but also for many of the Western European countries.

"If we take a look at the economic indicators of the Western European countries, we will notice they are not that good," Krivoruchko said.

The expert noted that as European countries, which need new channels for growth and new sources for development, understand that they cannot find those opportunities in their own land, they are interested in other regions that are full of vitality.

"That's why the Old West as we call them -- the UK, Germany, Franceand Italy -- were the first ones to support the idea of the bank," he said.

While admitting that the AIIB may face jealousy from other global and regional financial institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mozias did not think that the AIIB is a bitter rival for them.

"The AIIB leadership has said the bank will be 'lean, clean and green,' and that it is not going to compete with the ADB but to fill the different niche," he said.

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei speaks at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 24, 2014. Twenty-first Asian countries that are willing to join AIIB as founding members on Friday signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing AIIB. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Mozias also expressed his understanding toward China's initiative for the founding of the AIIB, noting that every country pursues its national interests.

He added that it is in Russia's national interests to participate in the program in cooperation with China.

"Avoiding participation in the China-proposed project will be counterproductive," he said.

Meanwhile, Igor Kostikov, leading research fellow at the Institute of Stock Market and Management, believed that the appearance of the AIIB would create opportunities for existing financial institutions to reform and do what they should do.

"Globalization so far has been happening in favor of a few economies. But with creation of such institutions like this bank, it will improve the international financial environment and will make it much fairer," Kostikov said.

A similar opinion was raised by Krivoruchko, who pointed out that there are countries that "do not want to live under the guidance of the Big Brother only."

"If there are interesting projects based on mutually beneficial cooperation, not on subordination or political power, it would be really attractive to them," he said.