Iraq to join European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Iraq has taken the first step to becoming a member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The 71 existing shareholders of the multilateral financial institution have approved a request by the country, which submitted a request for membership in April 2018. Iraq will now have to meet some pre-membership requirements before the membership process concludes with the acquisition of shares. 

As a shareholder, Iraq could subsequently make an application to change its status to recipient country, benefiting from the EBRD's finance and policy support. This request would be addressed by shareholders in a separate process.