President Hassan Rouhani sent the bill for Iran’s membership in Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to the Majlis.
Parliament will review the government’s proposal for purchasing 15,808 shares in the new lending institution worth $1.58 billion, Mehr news Agency reported.
According to the bill, Iran plans an active role in key international and regional bodies and improve cooperation with countries in and outside the region.
The bill notes that membership in the AIIB is in accordance with the declared foreign policy to enhance relations with Asian nations, help augment Asia’s resilience in times of international crises and improve ties between nations through infrastructure development.
The China-based AIIB is set to officially start work in mid-January 2016. It is an international financial institution proposed by China to invest in infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
AIIB is widely regarded as a rival to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank -- both dominated by western powers, the United States in particular.
Economy Minister Ali Tayyebnia, and representatives from 27 founding member states signed the new bank’s constitution on June 29 in Beijing.
Despite the recent inclusion of China’s yuan in the International Monetary Fund’s basket of global reserve currencies, the bank will make its first project loans in dollars.
