Sudanese parliament approves draft bill on joining AIIB

Sudan's National Assembly (parliament) on Tuesday approved a draft bill on joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), official SUNA news agency reported.

"The National Assembly (parliament) approved, in its session Tuesday, the report of its financial and economic affairs committee, presented by the committee chairman Ali Mahmoud Abdul-Rasoul, on the draft bill on joining the AIIB for 2018," the report said.

Abdel-Rasoul explained that the number of AIIB members now has reached 57 countries, in addition to 30 countries that have applied to join.

He said that the AIIB, since its establishment in 2014, has implemented 28 projects in 28 countries with a total cost of 5.5 billion U.S. dollars.

He added that the draft bill for joining the AIIB consists of 10 chapters and 60 articles, reviewing the benefits which Sudan would gain from joining the bank, particularly with regard to funding infrastructure projects.

The members of the parliament who commented on the draft bill underscored the importance of Sudan's joining of the AIIB, commending China's role and its initiatives for boosting investment in the country.