MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The government of Taiwan announced intention to apply for founding member status on Monday, according to a statement published on the website of country's foreign minister. Norway made a similar announcement the same day.
"Norway is a substantial contributor to global development efforts, and wishes to join countries from Asia and other parts of the world in further refining the structure and mission of the AIIB," Borge Brende said, as quoted by a press release Monday on the ministry website.
Earlier this month, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, Australia and Italy joined the AIIB. Numerous countries, including Russia, Brazil, Spain and the Netherlands applied to join the bank.
"Joining the AIIB would help our nation to fit into regional economic integration and enhance the opportunities for our nation to participate in international affairs, as well as boosting international business opportunities and enhancing our odds of joining other international trade groups in the future," Taiwanese presidential spokesman Charles I-hsin Chen said as quoted by the Financial Times on Tuesday.
The new regional bank has raised concerns in Washington as a potential competitor of Western-led financial institutions.
Earlier Tuesday, China rejected North Korea's application to join. Japan said it would not join the Chinese-led bank.
