Russia Never Viewed AIIB as Alternative for IMF, World Bank – First Deputy PM

Russia has never considered AIIB as a substitute for the World Bank or the IMF, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Russia has never considered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a substitute for the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.

"Russia has never seen AIIB as an alternative for the World Bank and the IMF. We do not think so," Shuvalov said, adding that the AIIB is an important institution and its development will be a great success for the world financial system.

Shuvalov explained that Russia is participating in the AIIB and plans close cooperation with China on the One Belt, One Road Initiative.

"President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin took part at the summit in Beijing. We have agreed that it is a project of interfacing the development of the Eurasian Economic Union [EAEU] and the One Belt, One Road Initiative, and we will move further on," Shuvalov said.

SPIEF kicked off on Thursday in Russia’s St. Petersburg and will continue through Saturday. The Sputnik News Agency is the official media partner of the forum.