RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: The New Development Bank (NDB) established by BRICS has demonstrated its viability.
It could serve as the foundation for a guarantee fund aimed at boosting investment in member countries, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said, as reported by Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
“The new development bank has been operating for 10 years. The institution has proved its efficiency and effectiveness.
“A decision has been made to establish a guarantee mechanism, which we are talking about now, on the basis of this institution,” Siluanov told reporters following the Annual Meeting of the NDB Board of Governors and the meeting of BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors.
The NDB of BRICS can be used as a bank for cross-border settlements, said Siluanov.
“We also talked about its new functions. The guarantee mechanism, and we believe that this bank can be used as a bank for cross-border settlements,” Siluanov said.
The BRICS countries in Brazil discussed digital financial assets and digital currencies and their use as an element of settlements, and agreed to continue this discussion.
“The issue of using digital financial assets as an element of settlements was considered during the discussion and during the central banks session.
“We agreed that the topic will continue to develop, since new financial instruments are obviously on the BRICS agenda.
“And therefore, issues of cross-border payments using digital capabilities and the use of digital financial assets for settlements were one of the topics on the agenda,” Siluanov added.
The next annual meeting of the NDB will be held in Russia in 2026, the Russian Finance Ministry said following the 10th anniversary meeting of the bank’s board of governors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“It was also decided that the next annual meeting in 2026 will be held in Russia,” the ministry said on Telegram.
It is noted that during the meeting of the bank’s Board of Governors, applications for the accession of Colombia and Uzbekistan to the NDB were approved.
“With the accession of these countries, the number of NDB participants increased to 11.
“Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, the UAE, Egypt and Algeria have already joined the bank,” the ministry specified.
The governors also discussed the current results of the implementation of the bank’s strategy, it added.
The political decision to establish the NDB within the BRICS was made in 2013 at the summit in Durban, South Africa.
In 2014, at the next summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, an agreement on the bank was signed.
Its work was officially launched at the inaugural meeting of the bank’s board of governors on July 7, 2015, in Moscow.
The main objective of the institution is to finance infrastructure projects and sustainable development projects in the BRICS member states and in developing countries. – BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI
