BRASILIA, March 23 (Reuters) – Major emerging market
economies will look closer at creating a joint development bank
to coordinate their financial power as the world economy
falters, Brazilian Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel said on
Friday.
Development banks of the so-called BRICS group of emerging
economies plan to ink memorandums of understanding next week in
India to work on the creation of a multilateral bank that could
finance investments in those nations and abroad, Pimentel said.
Leaders of BRICS nations China, India, Brazil, Russia and
South Africa will meet at a summit in India next week to discuss
the world economy and closer coordination.
“Brazil is interested, we sympathize with the proposal,”
Pimentel told foreign reporters in Brasilia. “This is a global
tool that will allow for better coordination among the five most
dynamic economies in the world.”
He said there were no operational details yet about the
possible bank and that talks remained in the early stages.
For years the BRICS have demanded more influence on global
financial institutions long controlled by the United States and
Europe.
Developing nations are for the first time challenging the
U.S.’s grip on the World Bank by backing candidates from
emerging markets. Still, most analysts expect the U.S. to remain
in control of the global lender.
On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated a
Korean-American known for work fighting HIV/AIDS in impoverished
countries to lead the World Bank.
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