SHANGHAI, April 29. /TASS/. The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries has become a new force in the global financial system, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a meeting with NDB President Dilma Rousseff.
"The New Development Bank is the first multilateral development institution founded and led by emerging market and developing economies. It has become a new force in the international financial system and a golden symbol of cooperation of the Global South," China Central Television quotes Xi Jinping as saying.
The Chinese leader called for strengthening the voice of the Global South in the discussion of reforms of the international financial architecture, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and supporting them on the path to modernization.
According to the Chinese leader, the collective rise of the Global South has become an important milestone in maintaining world peace, promoting common development and improving global governance.
Xi Jinping pointed out that China's development is based on hard work and the country will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests as well as the common interests of the international community.
The New Development Bank was set up by BRICS nations on the basis of the intergovernmental agreement signed at the sixth BRICS summit in Fortaleza in July 2014. It has eight members, those being Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia, and South Africa. The bank’s goal is to finance infrastructure projects and sustainable development projects in BRICS member states and developing countries. The bank has been assigned international credit ratings at the AA+ level by Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. Since its founding, the bank has approved 98 projects totaling over $33 bln in support of such areas as transportation, water, clean energy, digital and social infrastructure, as well as urban construction.