President Park Geun-hye urged the head of the Asian Development Bank to cooperate with South Korea and the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Park's office said Tuesday.

   Park said mutual cooperation is necessary to prepare for what is promised to be a surge in investment for infrastructure projects in Northeast Asia.

   She made the comment in a meeting with ADB President Takehiko Nakao who was in town for an international conference on financial cooperation in Asia.

   It is the first time that a South Korean president has met with the head of the ADB since 2003.

   Nakao shared the necessity of cooperating with South Korea and the AIIB, according to Park's office.

   The AIIB is seen as a potential counterbalance to U.S.-led multilateral lenders such as the ADB and the World Bank. The U.S. and Japan did not join the AIIB, but did call for transparency and higher governance in the new bank.

   Also on Tuesday, South Korea signed a deal with the ADB to provide US$600 million in soft loans for major development projects in Asia over the next three years. (Yonhap)