UNDP chief hails for the AIIB and the Belt and Road Initiative

The Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) hailed the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) project as she ended her two-day-trip to China on Monday.

Describing the Belt and Road Initiative as "a huge vision", Helen Clark, also a UN under-secretary-general, said, "we very much will welcome the opportunity to be a partner in ensuring that human development flourishes as a result of the Belt and Road Initiative".

The AIIB, Clark said, will be greatly welcomed throughout the region, as "finance for development is a preoccupation for many countries. So anything that adds to the availability of finance is a good thing".

"China has proposed a very firm concept and has combined many other countries," she said, "China will capitalize what is expected to be roughly half the capitalization of the new bank and other countries will come in. We see as this very significant."

Calling 2016 a big opportunity for China to make development a major theme at the G20 summit, the former prime minister of New Zealand emphasized the UNDP's willingness to support the first-time host.

"As a strong partner, we look forward to supporting these initiatives (by China) in any way we can," she said.

Clark also said that China has been a very good neighbor of Nepal with immediate response and support in the aftermath of the recent earthquake.

She appreciated both China's readiness to help in the relief and the willingness to share its experience.

"I continue to see that as a very important thing in development cooperation," she said.