New membership. The Membership and Capital Subscriptions Unit of the Corporate Secretariat is one of the first contact points for enquiries concerning new membership in the World Bank Group. The World Bank Group consists of five organizations: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The Unit is responsible for communications to and from the applicant country regarding membership formalities, such as amounts of proposed capital subscriptions and required payments and documentation. It prepares a draft membership resolution and a report recommending adoption of the resolution which contains the terms and conditions of the applicant country's membership to the Executive Board, and with the Board's approval, to the Board of Governors for a vote.
The Unit conducts the Governors' voting by mail, a process that normally takes about six weeks to complete. Governors' votes are sent to the Corporate Secretary by regular mail, courier, telex or fax, and are recorded in a voting tally to be approved by the Executive Directors at the expiration of the period allowed for voting.
Status of Membership. The Unit is the Bank Group's repository of information relating to the status of outstanding membership applications, effective dates of membership, dates of signing of the IBRD/IDA/IFC Articles of Agreement, and MIGA/ICSID Conventions, and dates of deposit of instruments of ratification or acceptance of the IBRD/IDA/IFC Articles of Agreement and MIGA/ICSID Conventions.
Official Names of Countries. The Unit, in consultation with the Legal Department, determines the correct usage for names of member countries, and issues announcements when changes occur. It maintains a list of member countries with approved spellings of country names and the associated adjectives; the list is available on the World Bank Group's internal web.
Depository of Membership Records. The Records Management Division of the Corporate Secretariat is the custodian of all official documents concerning membership in the World Bank Group. These include original copies of the IDA and IFC Articles of Agreement, and the MIGA and ICSID Conventions. However, as the United States Government is the official depository of the Articles of Agreement of IBRD, the original copy is kept in the United States Department of State.
Documents furnished to the World Bank Group, such as legislation authorizing membership of countries, full powers, instruments of acceptance, and confirmation of subscription payments, are also kept in the Records Management Division of the Corporate Secretariat. Copies of these documents are available upon request.
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