Israel has made "significant progress" in its efforts to join the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said after returning from a brief visit to Paris, Trend reports citing the Jerusalem Post.
The meeting dealt with subjects of economic cooperation between Israel and France, most notably Israel's endeavors to join the ADB. Kahlon said that France, a member of the ADB since 1970, will support Israel's membership efforts.
Founded in 1966, the Philippines-headquartered ADB is composed of 68 members, of which 49 are from the Asia and Pacific region. In partnership with member governments, the ADB provides loans, technical assistance and grants for the development of member countries.
The bank also provides assistance to private enterprises of developing member countries through equity investments and loans. In 2018, the ADB invested a total of $35.82 billion in the Asia and Pacific region.
"Economic cooperation between Israel and France, one of the world's leading economies, is stronger than ever," said Kahlon.
"The finance minister and his team have shown great interest in Israeli innovation and expressed their desire to increase French investment in Israeli technologies.
"We have made significant progress through the expression of FInance Minister Le Maire's willingness to support Israel's membership of the Asian Development Bank, which could increase Israeli exports by billions of dollars each year. I thanked minister Le Maire for the deep cooperation and friendship between the countries."