The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday that it had offered membership to Kosovo.

"The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today certified a vote by the IMF's Board of Governors to offer IMF membership to the Republic of Kosovo," the fund said in a statement posted on its official website.

"The Republic of Kosovo will become a member of the IMF when its authorized representative signs the IMF's Articles of Agreement in Washington D.C.," it said.

The fund said that Kosovo's proposed initial quota in the IMF is SDR 59 million (about 88.64 million dollars). There are currently 185 members of the IMF, with total members' quotas amounting to SDR 217.4 billion (about 326.6 billion dollars).

A member's quota in the IMF determines in particular its capital subscription, its voting power, its access to IMF financing, and its share in a general allocation of SDRs. Kosovo applied for IMF and World Bank membership last July.

With the support of the United States and some European Union members, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17, 2008, which so far has not been recognized by the overwhelming majority of countries in the world.

Countries including Serbia, Russia, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovakia are opposed to Kosovo's independence move.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2009)