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The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun speaks during a press conference in Mumbai, India on June 26, 2018. The AIIB Board of Governors has approved a new membership application from the Republic of Lebanon, bringing AIIB's total approved membership to 87, the bank said on its website on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Stringer)

MUMBAI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's (AIIB) Board of Governors has approved a new membership application from the Republic of Lebanon, bringing AIIB's total approved membership to 87, the bank said on its website on Tuesday.

"We're pleased to welcome Lebanon as a prospective member," said AIIB Vice President and Corporate Secretary Sir Danny Alexander. "It is an important and historic commercial hub in the Middle East and we look forward to Lebanon playing an active role within AIIB."

Lebanon will officially join AIIB as a regional member once it completes the required domestic processes and deposits the first capital installment with the bank. The shares allocated to the new prospective member come from AIIB's existing pool of unallocated shares.

At its launch in January 2016, there were 57 signatories to AIIB's Articles of Agreement. In 2017, AIIB announced the approval of another 27 prospective members. In May 2018, AIIB announced the approval of another two prospective members. AIIB expects to continue welcoming new members in the future.

The third annual meeting of AIIB kicked off in here in Mumbai on Monday with the theme "Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration."