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reference news network reported on september 29 according to a report by agence france-presse on september 27, the asian development bank headquartered in the philippines announced on the 27th that israel has become the latest non-regional member of the asian development bank. one analyst warned the move could lead to "polarization" within the agency.

the adb said in a statement that the bank's board of governors approved in april 2022israeljoin and wait for them to complete various membership requirements.

an adb source told afp that israeli finance minister bezalel smotrich would serve as the country's representative.

adb currently has 69 members, 49 of which are in asia. japan and the united states are the major contributors, with each contributing more than us$22.23 billion.

security analyst chester kawartha said israel's participation in the adb during the gaza war could cause "other members to flee the organization" in favor of the china-led asian infrastructure investment bank.

"alternatively, as long as israel is unwilling to address its security issues in gaza, we may see polarization within the adb," kawarsa told afp.

the adb includes some muslim-majority asian members that have been critical of israel's handling of the war.

adb was established in 1966. israel first applied to join in january 2022 and is adb's 20th non-regional member.

according to a report by agence france-presse on september 27, the rating agency moody's lowered israel's credit rating to baa1 on the 27th, with a negative outlook. this is the second time this year that moody's has downgraded israel's credit rating.

moody's highlighted that "the intensity of the conflict between israel and hezbollah has increased significantly in recent days" and downgraded its rating to baa1 from a2.

"the main reason for this downgrade is our view that geopolitical risks have intensified significantly further to very high levels, with a serious negative impact on israel's short- and long-term credibility," the rating agency said in a statement.

the conflict has grown in scale in recent days as israel has launched an attack on lebanon.

moody's downgraded israel's rating one notch from a1 to a2 in february this year. in april, standard & poor's also downgraded its rating to a+, and fitch followed suit in august, downgrading its rating to a.

asian development bank, headquartered in the philippines (afp)