BUENOS AIRES, December 3. /TASS/. Palestine has applied to join the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and expects to be accepted as a full-fledged member, Palestinian President’s adviser Mahmoud al-Habbash said.

"Palestine has strong relations with all countries of the [BRICS] group. Historically, Russia, China, and South Africa have been supportive countries to the Palestinian people. We have asked to be accepted as members of the alliance; we have also applied for NDB membership," he said in an interview with the Agencia de Noticias Brasil-Arabe (ANBA) publication.

In October, members of the BRICS summit in Kazan agreed on jointly transforming the NDB into a multi-dimensional development bank for the 21st century. The alliance also welcomed the further increase in the number of NDB stakeholders and the fast-tracking of applications from BRICS members according to the overall strategy and respective policies of the bank.

The New Development Bank was established by BRICS nations based on the intergovernmental agreement signed at the sixth BRICS summit in Fortaleza in July 2014. The bank’s goal is to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS member states and developing countries. The bank has its own capital worth $100 billion. Its securities are rated "AA+" by S&P Global Ratings for long-term obligations, which allows it to efficiently raise long-term funding on international and local capital markets.