Egypt officially becomes member of BRICS New Development Bank

Egypt on Wednesday, officially became a member of BRICS' New Development Bank (NDB) which includes India, Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa as member countries. According to an update posted on the bank's official website, Cairo completed all the necessary procedures to become an eligible member on February 20, 2023. It was given an official member status around that time. In 2020, the NDB board of Governors authorized the bank to hold a dialogue with potential member states of BRICS. Egypt's accession was later approved by NBD in December 2021. Earlier in September, the NDB board also approved similar procedures for United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uruguay, and Bangladesh. All three countries went on to become members of the bank. 

NDB open to members of the United Nations

BRICS' New Development bank was established in July 2014, after an intergovernmental agreement was signed by the partner nations at the sixth BRICS summit in Fortaleza. “The membership shall be open to members of the United Nations, in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Agreement of the New Development Bank. It shall be open to borrowing and non-borrowing members," article 2 of the agreement read. Uruguay became NDB's prospective member and has been admitted to the bank's Board of Governors, The country will officially become a member once it deposits the instrument of accession.

Bank's aim is to provide funding and finance to the BRICS member states for infrastructure and sustainable development projects. New Development Bank drafted the General Strategy until 2022–2026 titled “Scaling Up Development Finance for a Sustainable Future." The vision of the bank is to evolve into a leading provider of solutions for infrastructure and sustainable development for emerging market economies and developing countries. Since its establishment, the bank has approved numerous projects. More than 90 of them totalled $32 billion and covered critical areas such as transportation, urban construction, water, clean energy, and digital and social infrastructure. 

"To elevate NDB to a higher standard of operational excellence and development impact, we will continue to strengthen our capacity to mobilise resources at scale, finance diversified types of projects, employ sophisticated instruments, and build a robust institutional profile," the BRICS members noted in a statement.