BRICS. Brazil defends new financial models

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended this Friday the creation of a new financing model for developing countries and the climate crisis, at the opening of the tenth meeting of the New Development Bank (NDB).

"We need to re-educate the Bretton Woods institutions that it is not possible to continue in the 21st century with the changes that have occurred in geopolitics, with the changes that have occurred in the climate, treating the issue of financing in the same way. It is not possible for the African continent to owe 900 billion dollars and the interest payments, many times, are greater than any money they have to make investments," said Lula da Silva in his speech at the opening of the event.

“Either we will discuss a new form of financing to help developing countries and the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, or these countries will remain poor for another century , or more than a century,” he added.

The meeting will take place in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which will also host a summit of leaders of BRICS, the group of emerging countries that founded the NDB, this weekend.

BRICS currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India and China, South Africa, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

Lula da Silva emphasized that the NDB, created during a BRICS summit held in Fortaleza in 2014, has proven to be an inclusive multilateral financial forum that can advance new financing formats.

The Brazilian President cited the need to move towards a more independent financial system and highlighted that strengthening the use of local currencies has become a highlight of the BRICS bank.

“It is essential that member countries use their own currencies in financial operations, as we already do with 31% of the projects financed by the bank,” stated Lula da Silva, highlighting that this is a characteristic that differentiates the NDB from other financial institutions.

Lula da Silva also expressed his concern about countries with tropical forests, such as Congo, Indonesia and the Amazon, and reiterated the need to support indigenous populations and communities that protect these resources.

In this sense, the former Brazilian President and current president of the NDB, Dilma Rousseff, stated, at the same event, that climate finance, “more than a simple promise, must be a concrete mechanism for adaptation , energy transition and resilience”.

The NDB, better known as the BRICS Bank, is a multilateral financial institution created by the founding countries of the bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member countries and other emerging economies.