Belarus ready for active cooperation with BRICS - foreign minister

MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. Belarus is ready to launch cooperation with BRICS in separate spheres, with the special interest in the New Development Bank, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Monday after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko "plans to participate in the meetings of leaders of the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] and BRICS countries in Ufa," Makei said. "We have good relations almost with all member-countries of SCO and BRICs," he added. "We welcome the openness of BRICS and are ready to join the concrete directions of cooperation in the framework of this association," the Belarusian foreign minister stressed. "We are particularly interested in the financial institutions set up in the framework of BRICS, especially the New Development Bank. That’s why we will try to develop mutually beneficial cooperation with them," he said. The agreement on the multilateral development bank, seen as an alternative to the US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund, was signed in mid-July 2014 at the 6th summit of five major emerging national economies in Fortaleza, Brazil. The New Development Bank will finance infrastructure projects and projects of sustainable development in the BRICS countries and developing countries. The agreement on establishing the New Development Bank is open for other countries - UN member - to join. The BRICS New Development Bank will have an authorized capital of $100 billion, including $50 billion in dedicated capital and $10 billion in paid-in capital ($40 billion paid on demand). The bank will be headquartered in Shanghai. BRICS is an association of five major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - founded in June 2006. The first official summit took place in June 2009 in Russia’s Yekaterinburg. Since then, meetings at the highest level are held annually in member-countries. The last summit took place in Brazil. On April 1, Russia accepted BRICS presidency. Read more