Jin Liqun, President of the Beijing-based AIIB, formally presented a certificate confirming the country’s new status to Afghan Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi on October 13, 2017, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings in Washington. The Afghan government said in a statement the next day that the two sides “discussed the progress in Afghanistan’s membership in this bank, providing financial and technical facilities for solar energy, railway connectivity of five countries (Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Iran and China), financing infrastructure projects and some other important subjects.” It said it attaches great importance to Afghanistan’s AIIB membership and hopes it “paves the way for the implementation of major national projects,” adding that Jin will visit Kabul in the near future “in order to begin the practical work of this cooperation.”
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