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Fresh impetus for BRICS Bank during G20
August 20, 2013, 10:27 am

The much talked about BRICS Development Bank will receive fresh impetus during the G20 Summit when the leaders of the five nations meet in St. Petersburg, said South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday.

Zuma claimed the Development Bank will “address financing for global infrastructure backlogs”.

Details of where the bank will be located and amount of contributions of member countries is yet to be finalized [GCIS]

Details of where the bank will be located and amount of contributions of member countries is yet to be finalized [GCIS]

“BRICS Leaders plan to meet again on the margins of the G20 Summit in Russia next month and we will consider the progress report from our Finance Ministers in this regard,” Zuma said.

The South African President was addressing the first BRICS Business Council meet in Johannesburg.

The council is discussing ways to boost intra-BRICS trade and investment and will report to the BRICS leaders when they meet in Brazil in 2014.

“I trust that this meeting will provide further impetus to the BRICS-led new Development Bank,” noted Zuma.

The establishment of the BRICS Development Bank is largely seen as the first significant step of the bloc of five.

The bank was announced during the fifth BRICS Summit in Durban in March this year.

“We have agreed to establish the new development bank. The initial capital contribution to the bank should be substantial and sufficient for the bank to be effective in financing infrastructure,” the BRICS leaders said in a joint statement.

Details of where the bank will be located and amount of contributions of member countries is yet to be finalized.

Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said in April this year that preparations for the Bank would be completed by the time the bloc meets in Brazil for the 6th annual summit.

“Before we go to Brazil for the next summit, that is one year from Durban, we hope to complete our homework,” Chidambaram said.

The statutes of the new BRICS Development Bank will soon be concluded, according to Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota.

“We made good progress during the last meeting in Durban and the expectation is that in the 2014 meeting in Brazil, enough progress has been made to conclude the statutes of the bank,” Patriota told reporters in Brasilia in July.

It is not clear yet, whether the bank will be financing investment projects in the five BRICS states or whether it will expand to other emerging markets.

 

The BRICS Post