Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol shakes hands with Zhou Zai, the new president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, ahead of their meeting at the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Monday. [Ministry of Economy and Finance]
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol shakes hands with Zhou Zai, the new president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, ahead of their meeting at the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Monday. [Ministry of Economy and Finance]

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol met with the new president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Monday, calling for greater participation by Korean companies in development projects and expanded hiring of Korean professionals at the institution.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Koo met with AIIB President Zhou Zai, who is visiting South Korea, to discuss future areas of cooperation between Seoul and the multilateral lender. The visit marks Zhou's first trip to an advanced donor country in Asia since taking office in January.

At the meeting, Koo said the AIIB had grown consistently over its first decade to establish itself as a genuinely global multilateral development bank. He said the new president's role would be critical as the institution prepares for its next phase of growth.

The AIIB is an international financial institution established in 2016 to promote economic development and regional cooperation through infrastructure investment in Asia. Its membership has grown from 57 countries at its founding to 111. The bank has approved 373 development projects worth $72.4 billion.

Zhou expressed gratitude for South Korea's continued support and contributions, noting that Korea's active engagement as the bank's fifth-largest shareholder had been a key factor in the AIIB's growth.

Both sides agreed on the need to expand cooperation on development projects by combining Korean companies' technological capabilities with the AIIB's financial strength.

Koo said pairing Korean firms' technology with the AIIB's financial capacity could generate significant synergies in infrastructure development. He asked the bank to ensure that cooperation with Korean companies produces tangible results.

The meeting also covered expanding the presence of Korean talent within the AIIB. Koo said he hoped to see more Koreans hired across a range of levels and fields, from senior positions down to working-level roles.

Zhou said the bank would deepen cooperation with South Korea — which brings both development experience and technological expertise — across a range of areas, including technology-based infrastructure projects and personnel exchanges.

The government said it intends to use the meeting as an opportunity to broaden cooperation with the AIIB and to support Korean companies seeking to enter overseas infrastructure development markets, as well as Korean professionals looking to join international financial institutions.


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