President William Ruto's Cabinet on Monday certified the decision for Kenya to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), widely considered as a rival to the World Bank.
Initially, memoranda to join AIIB had floated but were finally approved during the Cabinet meeting the Head of State held at the State House.
If ratified, Kenya will join 109 other countries that are already members of the bank split into two categories, 94 full members and 15 prospective members.
The bank fashions itself as a financier for infrastructure projects and other productive sectors to foster sustainable economic development, create wealth, and improve infrastructure connectivity.
"We adapt and innovate constantly to deliver customized investment solutions that overcome the challenges our clients face. They count on our resilience to help them meet their objectives even during the most difficult times," reads a description on its website.
Launched in 2016, the bank has so far approved 252 projects with Ksh8 trillion (USD50.47 billion) already disseminated.
The bank is headquartered in Beijing and China holds a majority stake at 26.61 per cent followed by India (7.6 per cent), Russia (6.01 per cent), and Germany (4.2 per cent).
"Our foundation is built on the lessons of experience of successful private sector companies and existing multilateral development banks. AIIB aims to create a better tomorrow for billions of people by investing in sustainable infrastructure in Asia and beyond. We are driven by our core values of Lean, Clean and Green," the bank insists.
As recently as September last year, the AIIB admitted additional members including El Salvador, Solomon Islands, and Tanzania.
The members now account for 81 per cent of the world’s population and 65 per cent of the global gross domestic product.
To join, the applicant is expected to complete the required domestic processes and deposit the first capital instalment with the bank.
"Our journey began with 57 founding members. That we have been able to grow our membership to 109 in the past eight years shows that many believe in our mission to achieve sustainable infrastructure development and economic growth as well as our commitment to actively support infrastructure projects that contribute to climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience," AIIB Vice President and Corporate Secretary Ludger Schuknecht celebrated during its eighth Annual Meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
President William Ruto's administration's relationship with China has grown since he took over the reins in September 2022 despite being one of its biggest critics.
During his Beijing trip in October, he secured investments valued at Ksh688.7 billion with Chinese companies and snapped a photo with the country's President Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, Ruto has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of World Bank loans with the multinational lender approving a Ksh1.8 trillion loan in November 2023.
