Leaders of five emerging market countries have launched a new $100bn development bank.
Known as the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -they agreed the aim of the bank will be to fund infrastructure projects in developing countries.
It will be based in Shanghai and as its first president will be Indian, it was left to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain its ethos:
“It will benefit BRICS nations, but will also support other developing nations. And it will be rooted in our own experiences as developing countries.”
The bank is the group’s first concrete step towards reshaping the Western-dominated international financial system.
The group which was meeting in Fortaleza in Brazil also set up a $100bn currency reserve pool to help countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures.
BRICS nations have long criticised the World bank and the International Monetary Fund for not giving developing nations enough voting rights within their organisations.
