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No political decision on Iran’s joining BRICS Bank expected soon — Russian ministry

As TASS reported earlier Iran’s Deputy Finance and Economy Minister Mohammad Khazai said the country plans to join the New Development Bank BRICS

MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Russia’s Economic Development Ministry does not expect any decision on Iran’s joining BRICS New Development Bank in the nearest time, First Deputy Minister Alexey Likhachev said on Thursday.

"I don’t think we expect any political decision regarding the issue in the nearest future. We can cooperate with Iran with a glance to this country’s emerging market and its demand for investment and technological resources, so I welcome cooperation. But it’s too early to speak about Iran’s participation in BRICS Development Bank," he said.

As TASS reported earlier Iran’s Deputy Finance and Economy Minister Mohammad Khazai said the country plans to join the New Development Bank BRICS.

The BRICS member-states signed the declaration on setting up the bank during the 6th summit of the bloc on July 15, 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil. The bank will be headquartered in Shanghai. The bank is expected to finance the first project in April 2016. The declaration provides for establishment of the New Development Bank to finance infrastructural projects and sustainable development projects in BRICS member-nations and developing economies. BRICS member-states will act as bank founders and will be vested with special rights. In particular, the president of the bank will only be elected by rotation among representatives of member-states and key decisions in management authorities of the bank will be made by the majority of votes of founding states. The bank will have a three-tier corporate governance system - the board of governors, the board of directors, and the president.

According to Mohammad Khazai, Iran’s participation in the BRICS New Development Bank will trigger expansion of economic ties within the BRICS.

As a representative of Russian Finance Ministry’s press service told TASS earlier "the question of Iran’s joining the New Development Bank has not been discussed in any form. In accordance with the articles of agreement of the New Development Bank, any member-country of the UN can join the bank, by submitting official request for joining and sharing the goals and tasks of the bank’s activities, he said. The bank then reviews the application in detail. "At the moment there were no steps in this direction from the Iranian side," the representative of the ministry said.