Solomon Islands joins China-backed AIIB days after PM snubs Biden invite for Pacific summit at White House
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Tanzania, another key Beijing ally and where China has vast interests, has also been admitted as a prospective member.
The new admissions to the AIIB push the total number of countries that have joined to 109. While most are in Asia, the bank also has members outside the region, such as Britain, France and dozens of African countries, including Algeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Egypt.
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The AIIB’s board of governors approved the applications during the bank’s eighth annual meeting in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday – its first in-person annual gathering since 2019.
AIIB president and board chairman Jin Liqun said the members now “collectively account for 81 per cent of the world’s population and 65 per cent of global gross domestic product”.