POTENTIAL OF ASIAN MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS FOR POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION OF UKRAINE’S ECONOMY

Abstract

In the context of searching for international financial resources for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine's economy, the financial and investment potential and experience of Asian multilateral development banks (MDBs), namely the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), have been studied. It is shown that the AIIB, in contrast to the regional status of the ADB, has actually acquired a global status in terms of its membership, range of operational activities, and geoeconomic influence. In particular, it has begun to actively lend to its members outside Asia. Despite geoeconomic competition, the AIIB actively co-finances infrastructure projects with the ADB, the World Bank, and European MDBs.

It is shown that the organization of the AIIB's operations is based on the Confucian Doctrine of the Mean, which quite successfully ensures a balance between efficiency and geoeconomic interests of the bank's members. This distinguishes the AIIB from other MDBs, which are dominated by either donor countries, recipient countries, or individual hegemonic countries.

It is predicted that in the face of the US imposition of protective tariffs against the PRC and a number of its traditional allies, the coordination of the financial and investment policies of China, other countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the EU will be strengthened within the framework of the AIIB. Given the terrorist threat factor for the key route of world trade shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the possibilities of intensifying Ukraine's participation in transcontinental infrastructure projects, primarily under the TRACECA agreement, are substantiated. This should include targeted donor assistance to Ukraine, including through involving ADB and AIIB assets, which would contribute to the restoration and development of Ukraine's transit potential in trans-Eurasian communications.

Considering the institutional and legal capabilities and significant financial potential of AIIB, the advisability of studying the issue of Ukraine acquiring the status of the bank’s member in the context of post-war recovery is justified. This would allow to count on sizeable preferential loans from AIIB for infrastructure and social development.