At their meeting in Durban, the BRICS group put forward the
proposal establishing a Development Bank under their auspices. This initiative
was hailed by Donald Kaberuka, President of the AfDB.
A grand premiere in Africa, this decision was taken at the
meeting held on the 26 and 27 March 2013. The continent welcomed the annual
meeting of the BRICS group held in Durban made up of Brazil, India, China,
Russia and South Africa joining these countries in April 2011.
« BRICS and Africa: “a partnership for development,
integration and industrialization » was the theme of the 5th summit meeting of
the BRICS hosted by the Rainbow nation –South Africa. The meeting was attended
by a dozen of African leaders and heads of government.
It is worth noting that, precedent to the commercial and economic ties between
members, trade exchanges between the
BRICS countries and the entire continent are the centre of attention : in ten years they have multiplied ten fold to reach 340 billion of US dollars in 2012 – as against 282 billion
dollars for the BRICS countries.
The African continent has in the recent past been able to tap about 25 % of the
total of direct foreign investments (DFI) from the BRICS group.
The summit meeting of the five major emerging countries in
Durban was the occasion to make an
important decision: the official launch
of negotiations for the establishment of a « South South » development bank, which
project was mooted in 2011, at the Summit held in New Delhi.
The role of this future multilateral banking institution:
Financing infrastructure and development projects within the BRICS states and
beyond.
A crucial role, as was confirmed by the South African
President Jacob Zuma: « We have decided to initiate formal negotiations for the
establishment of a new development bank under the authority of the BRICS
countries, intended to meet our infrastructural needs that are enormous and
amount to nearly 4 500 billion dollars for the next five years, but also as a
stepping stone for cooperation with other emerging markets and future
developing countries ».
Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank
(AfDB), acknowledged this initiative, as such an institution would come as
a complement to the existing structures and will boost fund mobilization in favour of development
projects : « I earnestly believe that this is the time to set up this bank ». However, he proffered words of advice
especially the need to clarify the
mandate of this bank.
However, following this official statement, the practical
modalities remain to be defined. No agreements have been signed as regards the
capital breakdown of the future bank. Would the BRICS countries pay the same
amount, or would it be according to a variable but proportional quota? These
countries are neither at the same economic level nor have they the same means.
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