Export Credit Bank of Turkey (Türk Eximbank) has gained resident member status in the Asian Exim Banks Forum (AEBF), a regional group of export-import institutions, the bank announced yesterday. Eleven-member institutions including Türk Eximbank signed a framework agreement to open new back-to-back credit channels to each other, the bank said in a written statement. Türk Eximbank has been a non-permanent member of the AEBF, which was established to promote business cooperation between export credit institutions of the Asian member countries, since 2015, and became a resident member at the forum's current meeting on Nov. 14-16 in Sydney, Australia. At the meeting, the framework agreement to open new credit channels to finance reciprocal trade of the countries was signed by the representatives of 11-member institutions. The credit channels to be set up within the scope of institutions' strategies and their legal authorities are expected to make positive contributions to the trade volume in Asia.

Adnan Yıldırım, the bank's acting CEO, said: "I believe that cooperation with AEBF members will increase the support provided by Türk Eximbank to Turkey's exports."

Turkey will host the forum's annual meetings in 2020, the bank said. The first meeting of the group was held in India in 1996, meant to enhance cooperation among members, which led to the formation of the AEBF, according to the forum's website.

The forum's other members are exim banks and credit agencies in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippine, Thailand and Vietnam.