The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced on Saturday that its Board of Governors has adopted resolutions approving seven applicants to join the bank, bringing the bank's total membership to 77, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The announcement came one day before the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which will be held in Beijing on May 14 and 15.
The bank said that three of the new members are "regional" -- Bahrain, Cyprus, and Samoa. The other four are non-regional prospective members, namely Bolivia, Chile, Greece and Romania.
Xinhua quoted AIIB President Jin Liqun as saying that more countries are expected to join the bank as they realize its internationalism contributes to development in Asia and the global economy.
The seven new members will officially join AIIB after completing the required domestic processes and depositing their first installment of capital with the bank.
With 57 signatories at its launch in January 2016 and the approval of 13 prospective members in March 2017, AIIB aims to provide financing to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia.
