BEIJING, March 26-- Turkey has applied to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a prospective founding member, the Ministry of Finance said Thursday.

Should the other founding members approve Turkey's application, it will formally become a founding member on April 10, according to a statement on the ministry website.

The AIIB is an international financial institution providing support to infrastructure projects in Asia. It is expected to be established by the end of this year.

The application deadline for prospective founding members is March 31.

Twenty-one countries including China, India and Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last October in Beijing on the bank. Other countries, including Indonesia and New Zealand, soon followed.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland have applied to join the investment bank, which now has 27 prospective founding members.