Washington, April 14 The World Bank and the new China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), originally seen as possible rivals, joined hands on Wednesday with an agreement to co-finance projects. The two development banks signed off on a framework for working together on infrastructure programmes over coming year which will give World Bank some crucial oversight on how projects are planned and implemented. In its first year of operation, the AIIB expects to approve about $1.2 billion in financing, with a ‘sizeable share’ of that to be in joint projects with the World Bank, the two said. Under consideration are around a dozen projects including water, transportation, and energy developments in East, Southeast and Central Asia. Beijing riled some World Bank backers two years ago when it moved to establish the AIIB to support the huge demand for infrastructure development in Asia. Critics led by the US worried that AIIB would set much lower standards for projects that would undermine principles of social, environmental and economic sustainability adhered to by the World Bank and other multilateral development finance institutions. The AIIB was formally created in December with 57 members, and China the largest shareholder with 30 per cent.