BUCHAREST, June 2 -- The Romanian government on Thursday approved the start of talks regarding the country's membership to the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

A memorandum was adopted in this respect by the cabinet, said governmental spokesman Dan Suciu.

Membership of the bank would allow Romania to take out loans for investment, the spokesman said.

"This is one of the newly established organizations that facilitates investment for Asian countries, but there are also many European countries already members of the bank, which was built around the financial reserves made available by China," he added.

The AIIB was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 and officially established late last year. With an authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, it is a multilateral development bank that focuses on the development of infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia.

European Union countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom, are among the 57 AIIB founding members.

Last month, the AIIB reached an agreement with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to promote economic development and investment across countries where they are active.