MOSCOW, Aug 22 The head of the BRICS New Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff, commented in an interview with the Financial Times on the forced suspension of operations in Russia, saying that «one cannot deny the existence of an international financial system.»
According to the Financial Times newspaper, the New Development Bank, created by the BRICS countries, was forced to «suspend all operations in Russia,» which is a member of the alliance, in order to avoid sanctions and disconnection from the international financial system.
“You can't deny that the international financial system exists… You have to live with it,” she said, commenting on the situation.
The political decision to create a New Development Bank within the framework of the BRICS was taken in 2013 at a summit in Durban, South Africa. In 2014, at the next summit in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, an agreement was signed on the bank. The official start of its work was given at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Governors of the bank on July 7, 2015 in Moscow. The main objective of the institute is to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the BRICS member countries and in developing countries.
BRICS unites Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. A number of other countries intend to join the economic bloc, including Argentina, Iran, and, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. South Africa took over the BRICS chairmanship from China earlier this year. It will last until the end of 2023, and then it will be transferred to the next country.