Afghanistan obtains AIIB permanent membership

KABUL - Afghanistan has obtained the permanent membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the country's finance ministry reported on its website Sunday.

Afghan Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi received the Certificate of Permanent Membership of the AIIB on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting earlier this week in Washington, the United States, the ministry said in a statement.

Hakimi also met Jin Liqun, president of AIIB, and discussed a number of topics including Afghanistan's membership in the bank, financial and technical facilities for Afghan solar energy, railway connectivity of five countries (Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Iran and China), financing infrastructure projects, among others, the statement noted.

"Afghanistan's membership in the bank has been very important and paves the way for the implementation of major national projects," the statement said.

Established in 2015, AIIB aims to provide financing to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia.