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India may turn to BRICS bank for financing of infrastructure projects

The main meeting of the BRICS Business Council will be held in Ufa on July 8

© EPA/DIVYAKANT SOLANKI

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NEW DELHI, July 3. /TASS/. The New Development Bank of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) may finance infrastructure and renewable energy in India, BRICS Business Council Chairman from India Mr. Onkar S. Kanwar told TASS in an interview on Friday.

He said India is ready "to work with the New Development Bank on drawing a list of priority projects in areas such as infrastructure, renewable energy, skill development etc. for consideration for funding in the BRICS countries."

According to Kanwar, "We would like the NDB to support large regional integration projects as well as foster regional value chains in the manufacturing industry. The above are some of the areas where we will have discussions with our counterparts at the various BRICS Business Council meetings."

The main meeting of the BRICS Business Council will be held in Ufa on July 8. Prior to that, the working groups of the Business Council will meet in Moscow on July 6. "We are going to finalise the second Annual Report of the BRICS Business Council and the same will be presented to the Heads of State at Ufa, Russia," Kanwar said.

BRICS brings together five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The organisation was founded in June 2006 within the framework of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum (it was initially called BRIC, before South Africa joined it in 2009). Russia holds the BRICS presidency in 2015, and in the period from April 2015 till April 2016 Russia presides over the BRICS Business Council. The organisation’s 2014 summit signed an agreement on the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank to finance infrastructure projects and sustainable development projects in BRICS states and developing countries.

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