Papua New Guinea and Kenya received approval for membership to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the bank announced on Wednesday.
A round of approved applicants includes one regional member, Papua New Guinea and one non-regional, Kenya increasing the total approved membership to 86.
'AIIB now has 86 approved members from six continents. This shows a strong commitment to promoting infrastructure development through rules-based multilateral cooperation with high standards of governance,' AIIB Vice President and Corporate Secretary Danny Alexander was quoted as saying.
The two prospective members will officially join AIIB after they complete all required procedures and once they deposit their first installment of capital with the bank.
The shares to be allocated to new prospective members come from the AIIB’s existing pool of unallocated shares.
At its launch in January 2016, there were 57 signatories to AIIB's Articles of Agreement. In March, May, June and December 2017, the bank announced the approval of another 27 prospective members.
AIIB expects to continue welcoming new members in the future, according to the bank.
The AIIB is a multilateral development bank, headquartered in Beijing, with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond through sustainable infrastructure investments.
By Huseyin Erdogan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr