Banks from emerging economies are boosting their presence in infrastructure activities under the Belt and Road Initiative, with bankers vowing on Monday to seek closer partnerships for project financing.

Halil Aydogan, general manager of Turkey's Vakifbank, said there is demand for more than $40 billion of investment in transportation infrastructure in Turkey, and the bank is seeking to expand partnerships with Chinese lenders to fund major projects.

"For many years, European banks were very active in Turkey. Now we see banks from China joining in as they see big value and potential for banking in Turkey," Aydogan said on the sidelines of a roundtable meeting of bankers at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing