CAPE TOWN, August 29. /TASS/. An annual session of the Board of Governors of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) opens in Cape Town, South Africa. This year’s topic is "Investing in a Sustainable Future."

"The Annual Meeting will serve as a critical platform for discussions on how NDB can finance infrastructure and sustainable projects in emerging markets and developing countries with enhanced effectiveness and excellence," says a press release posted on the Bank’s website.

The meeting will be attended by delegates from all the four NDB member nations, namely Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

The BRICS New Development Bank was established by the BRICS countries on the basis of an intergovernmental agreements that was signed at the 6th BRICS summit in Brazil in July 2014. The Bank’s mission is to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS states and developing countries. The Bank’s capital is worth $100 billion and its securities are rated AA+ by S&P Global Ratings.

Over the years of its existence, the Bank has approved more than 105 projects to an overall sum of more than $34.8 billion in such sectors as transport, water supplies, clean energy, digital and social infrastructure, and urban planning.

In recent year, the Bank admitted Bangladesh, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates as its members and will admit Uruguay as soon as necessary procedures are over.

The Bank’s Board of Governors, which is comprised of the member states’ finance ministers, meets once a year. This will be its ninth meeting.

NDB President is Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s former President (2011-2016). The Bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China.