Armenia, 12 other countries join China-led AIIBMarch 23, 2017 - 11:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia and 12 other countries have joined the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), AIIB said on Thursday, March 23, bringing its total membership to 70, Reuters reports. This is the first time AIIB has welcomed new members to the bank since it inception, the multilateral financial institution said in a statement on its website. The approved applicants include eight non-Asian countries - Canada, Belgium, Ethiopia, Hungary, Ireland, Peru, Republic of Sudan and Venezuela - and five regional members - Armenia, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Fiji and Timor Leste. The multilateral institution, seen as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank, was initially opposed by the United States but attracted many U.S. allies including Britain, Germany, Australia and South Korea as founding members. Canada applied to join the AIIB last year. "I am very proud that AIIB now has members from almost every continent," said AIIB President Jin Liqun. "We anticipate further applications being considered by our Board of Governors later this year." Photo. Reuters Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |