NDB Board of Governors Holds Fifth Annual Meeting in Virtual Format

The Board of Governors (BoG) of the New Development Bank (NDB) held its Fifth Annual Meeting virtually on April 20, 2020.

Governors exchanged views on the next five-year General Strategy of the New Development Bank, highlighting that the NDB supports infrastructure and sustainable development projects tailored to the needs of individual countries, respecting their development priorities and strategies.

“Our approach has been one of being extremely receptive to client needs, offering local and hard currency products, managing risks prudently, avoiding the traditional donor-donee mindset, and focusing on contributing to our members’ sustainable development goals,” said the NDB President Mr. K.V. Kamath in his statement at the Meeting.

The Board of Governors approved Audited Financial Accounts of the Ordinary Operations for the period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. The BoG also approved Audited Financial Accounts for the Project Preparation Fund for the period January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.

The Board elected Mr. Anton Siluanov, the Governor for Russia, Minister of Finance as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors, and Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Governor for India, Minister of Finance as the Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Governors. It was announced that they shall serve in the respective positions until the end of the next Annual Meeting of the Board.

The Board of Governors decided that its Sixth Annual Meeting will be held in Russia in 2021. It was also decided that the Board will hold a special meeting in May, 2020 to elect the next President of the Bank.

During the Meeting, Governors exchanged views on responding to the novel coronavirus outbreak and approved Statement on Response to COVID-19 Outbreak.

“On behalf of the Bank, I would like to convey that we deeply regret the loss of life and economic and social distress being caused by COVID-19. The Bank stands in solidarity with you and the global community in the fight against this pandemic and is devoting a significant portion of its human and financial resources to assist its members,” said Mr. K.V. Kamath.

Background information

The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. To fulfill its purpose, the NDB will support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments. According to the NDB’s General Strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank’s operational strategy for 2017-2021. In August 2018, the Bank received AA+ long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P and Fitch.