CIB Egypt joins China's '1 Belt 1 Road' initiative

​​​The Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB) has been selected by the Bank of China to represent the African continent to join the "One Belt One Road" initiative, the bank said in a statement.

The "One Belt One Road" is China's land-based and maritime trade routes across Asia, Europe and Africa to create closer economic and trade links among 65 countries, with an anticipated trade volume exceeding USD 2.5 trillion over the next decade.

During a two-day seminar held in Beijing, CIB and Bank of China signed a MOU regarding strategic cooperation under the "One Belt One Road", the statement added.

The MOU aims at partnering with the top banks to back the initiative's implementation phases and provide the adequate, premium financial and banking services and products that will be supporting the limitless opportunities generated by this Chinese initiative.

CIB Chairman and Managing Director Hisham Ezz Al Arab said that being the only Egyptian and African bank selected for partnering with Bank of China in this enthusiastic initiative indicates CIB's distinctive, leading position and reputation in the banking market and reflects the profound trust of foreign partners in the Bank's competencies and proficiencies on both regional and international levels.

The Chinese initiative will be shaping a new prism of the world economy and capitalizing on the expected sizeable opportunities, he added.

The "One Belt, One Road" is a collective term for the initiatives of "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" that were proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013.

The Silk Road Economic Belt is to extend through several corridors over Asia and Europe, while the Maritime Silk Road is to include infrastructure projects that lie in South Asia, East Africa, and the Northern Mediterranean Sea.

The One Belt One Road initiative is expected to feature prominently in China's 13th Five-Year Plan that will run from 2016 to 2020.