BRICS AND DEVELOPMENT

BRICS NATIONS TO HAVE DEVELOPMENT BANK

UPI, March 27, 2013

DURBAN, South Africa, March 27 (UPI) -- The BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed to set up a bank for infrastructure development, China's finance minister said.

Speaking in Durban, South Africa, site of the fifth summit of the BRICS nations, Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei confirmed the agreement on the bank during a meeting of fellow financial ministers of the five countries.

He said the ministers "have agreed that the set-up of the development bank is feasible and reasonable," the official Chinese Xinhua News Agency reported.

Lou said it was agreed a bank to fund infrastructure projects in the member nations is needed, but that the meeting did not discuss details like initial investment of each country to the bank.

"What we have now is just a general picture," Lou said, adding details may be worked out by next year.

The Chinese minister, apparently allaying any concern a BRICS bank might challenge institutions such as the U.S.-led World Bank or the Asian Development Bank, said the bank would complement such existing institutions.

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