NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK RECORDING IMPRESSIVE PROGRESS - BRICS

International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said that the bank was playing a key role in advancing the developmental agenda of developing nations.

International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor at the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs Meeting in Cape Town on 2 June 2023. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/Eyewitness News

Lindsay Dentlinger | 02 June 2023 19:24

CAPE TOWN - BRICS says its New Development Bank (NDB) has recorded impressive progress.

It’s grown its membership from five to eight members and a ninth is set to join soon.

The BRICS meeting of foreign ministers in Cape Town has been taking stock of the bank’s performance, led by former Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff.

International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said that the bank was playing a key role in advancing the developmental agenda of developing nations.

She said that members were also pleased with its financial rating.

"It’s our intention, both as BRICS countries and NDB members, that this bank must have regard to ensuring fairness in global financial systems and practices, and that it should be focusing its attention toward a world in which we reduce poverty and eradicate it eventually, a world in which we promote equality, a world in which we see greater development."

Pandor said that most of the loans secured through the BRICS bank had been for infrastructure development.