The five nations of the Arab Maghreb Union have created an investment bank with capital of $100 million to finance infrastructure projects in the region, Mauritania's central bank governor said on Wednesday.
Libya's Government of Central Bank took part in the meeting.
The investment bank will launch operations by the end of the first quarter 2013, and will partner with the private sector to finance projects in the five nations: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
"Today it was decided to make this creation effective and to provide Maghreb investment bank with a capital of $100 million, with an equal participation from each of the five member states," Sid'Ahmed Ould Raiss told journalists after the meeting of the union in the Mauritanian capital.
"The bank is intended to finance development projects, such as highways, promoting new technologies and also investing in energy," Raiss said.
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, who attended the meeting of the union, lauded the creation of the bank saying it would foster integration and spur investments in the region.
