The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) membership has increased by three to 109 after its board of governors approved applications from El Salvador, the Solomon Islands and Tanzania.
The trio of countries will officially become members once they complete required domestic processes and deposit the first capital installment with the AIIB, the Beijing-based multilateral development bank says in a statement on September 27, noting that their addition means its members will collectively account for 81% of the world’s population and 65% of global gross domestic product.
The bank was established in 2016 with 57 founding members.
“That we have been able to grow our membership to 109 in the past eight years shows that many believe in our mission to achieve sustainable infrastructure development and economic growth.” says Ludger Schuknecht, vice president and corporate secretary at the bank.
The AIIB primarily focuses on financing sustainability-related infrastructure projects.