AIIB welcomes 13 new members, 15 to join the queue

Fifteen new members will soon join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which will bring the total number of members to nearly 90, AIIB President Jin Liqun announced on Saturday.

The comment came after the bank expanded its membership to 70 last week by approving 13 countries and regions as new members.

Jin said the participation of new members from North and South America, Africa and Europe will bring positive changes to the AIIB's operations, implying that the bank will expand investment outside of Asia.

"The AIIB can support infrastructure investment outside of Asia as long as the projects benefit the local and Asian development," Jin told reporters on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province.

Jin said that the participation of countries in the AIIB such as Canada is a vote of confidence in the operation and management of the bank.

"Our job is not just to put some money in a particular country," Jin said, stressing that the bank would like to see infrastructure projects it funded improve regional coordination and enable members to gain rather than lose from its investment.