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Solomon Islands joins China-backed AIIB days after PM snubs Biden invite for Pacific summit at White House
- The Solomons, El Salvador and Tanzania join Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, bringing total members to 109
- COP28 president designate praises bank’s new climate action plan; new report questions AIIB accountability process
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Solomon Islands has joined the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) days after its leader snubbed an invitation to meet US President Joe Biden at a Pacific summit.
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Solomon Islands joins the bank alongside the Central American nation of El Salvador, which deepened its relationship with Beijing a few years after switching ties from Taipei.
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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China’s Belt and Road, 10 years on
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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.
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