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More than 40 countries, including Australia,
South Korea, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, have said they
would sign up to the AIIB, with Japan and the United States the
two notable absentees.
China set a March 31 deadline to become a founding member of the
AIIB, an institution that could enhance Beijing's regional and
global influence.
Washington initially tried to dissuade its allies from joining
the AIIB, seeing it as a challenge to the World Bank and Asian
Development Bank over which the U.S. exerts considerable
influence, but changed tack after many signed up for it.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Tuesday that Washington
would welcome the AIIB as long as it complements existing
institutions and adopts high governance standards.
In a statement on its website, the Foreign Ministry said
Israel's AIIB membership would open up opportunities to
integrate Israeli companies into infrastructure projects it
financed.
Israeli companies are increasingly turning to Asia to capture a
boom in demand for their technology, as the government urges
them to diversify export markets in response to Europe's rising
anti-Semitism and potential trade sanctions.
The new bank plans to invest $100 billion in infrastructure
projects in Asian countries. Half of that amount has already
been budgeted by China.
(Reporting by Tova Cohen; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Tom
Heneghan)
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