Nirmala Sitharaman attends first BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meet

The finance minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, attended first BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meet on November 9, 2020.

Highlights

During the meeting, the finance ministers involved the discussions on the outcomes of the G20 Saudi Presidency in 2020. They also discussed about creating a digital platform in order to encourage the infrastructure investments and expansion of the membership of the New Development Bank. During the meeting, the finance minister highlighted how the BRICS members have played an important role to ensure that the concerns of developing economies are properly addressed through various initiatives. The finance ministers further observed that BRICS members have delivered significant initiatives in  at the G20 Action Plan to respond against the COVID-19 in 2020. The leaders also highlighted that G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative have ensured immediate support. They also discussed to expand the membership of New Development Bank.

New Development Bank

The New Development Bank (NDB) was formerly called as the BRICS Development Bank. It is a multilateral development bank that was established by the BRICS states namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.  The Bank support the public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments. The bank also cooperate with the international organizations and other financial entities. The bank is currently headquartered in BRICS Tower in Shanghai.  The first regional office was set up at Johannesburg, South Africa. The New Development Bank was set up in 2014 at the Fortaleza summit.