The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will become an important forum to bridge an infrastructure financing gap in Asia to help regional economies achieve stable and sustainable growth, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Monday after he signed the Articles of Agreement (AoA) of the AIIB on behalf of Pakistan in Beijing. Pakistan is one of the first nations to show support for the establishment of the bank and now is a founding member of the AIIB.

The AoA, endorsed by 57 prospective founding countries, have been concluded through extensive consultations among founding members "in a democratic way," said Dar in an interview with the Global Times.

The finance minister rebutted Western speculation that China is seeking a dominant role in the bank. "I don't think there is any such indication, to be honest," Dar said.

He said important decisions require a majority of at least 75 percent of votes and approval of two-thirds of all member countries.

China has 26.06 percent of the voting rights in the bank, so it is unlikely to monopolize the decision-making, nor is this China's will. China is open to negotiations and will coordinate with other founding members, he added.

Dar spoke highly of Chinese leadership's vision of creating a multilateral institution in this region that will serve the needs of infrastructure funding.

The Asian Development Bank estimated that Asia will need $8 trillion from 2010 to 2020 for infrastructure investment in fields such as energy, transportation, telecommunication, water and sanitation, but the region is facing a gap between great demand and inadequate capital supply. "The AIIB is especially created to serve the needs of infrastructure funding in the region," he said.

As a country which is in dire need of infrastructure investment, Dar added that Pakistan hoped to draw financing support for communications and energy infrastructure projects including projects for construction of roads, dams and power generation, and Pakistan will continue to fully participate in the decision-making process of the AIIB.