BRICS bank an act of great foresight, says Indian envoy to China

Headquartered in China’s financial capital, Shanghai, the BRICS bank was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in 2015 to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the group and developing countries.

The founding of the New Development Bank (NDB) by the BRICS nations was an “act of great foresight” by the leaders of the five-member bloc as it is important to meet the infrastructure financing needs of the developing countries, Indian ambassador to China, Vikram Misri, has said.

Indian minister of finance and corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman virtually chairing the second meeting of BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors, in New Delhi in August. The founding of the New Development Bank by the BRICS nations was an “act of great foresight” by the leaders of the five-member bloc, said Indian envoy to China. (ANI)

“The importance of NDB is in meeting infrastructure financing needs of developing countries,” Misri said.

Headquartered in China’s financial capital, Shanghai, the NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in 2015 to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the group and developing countries

“The bank’s founding was an act of great foresight, creative thinking and political courage on the part of the BRICS leaders,” Vikram Misri said at the New Development Bank ThinkLab in Shanghai on Wednesday.

Taking a critical look at the global world order, Misri said its key elements are not working for all stakeholders.

Political, technological, and economic shifts are taking place over the last 75 years impacting the multilateral system, which has not kept pace with either the “diffusion of political power or the economic rebalancing that has taken place”, he said.

The shifts have also impacted globalisation including global markets, supply chains and global talent mobility, the Indian envoy to China said.

The coronavirus pandemic has accentuated these crises.

“Unfortunately, it did not see the level of cooperation required to tackle it. It took two BRICS countries, India and South Africa, to argue for a TRIPS waiver for vaccines in the WTO”, he said. Misri was referring to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

In a landmark move, India and South Africa in October last year had asked the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to allow all countries to choose to neither grant nor enforce patents and other intellectual property related to Covid-19 drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other technologies for the duration of the pandemic, until global herd immunity is achieved.

The proposal has gained momentum and 63 countries have co-sponsored the draft as of May 2021.