Summary:    

Bangladesh has finally become a member of the New Development Bank (NDB), which aims to be an alternative to the US-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Content:

The new Development Bank founded by Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2014 tried to expand its membership on Dec 17^th formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, established by the BRICS states. Very few people really knew about the NDB despite the fact that it involves five massive evolving countries with 41% of the world’s population, 22% of the GDP and some of the largest landmasses of the world.

It is a multilateral development bank to design strategies and performance capable of living up to the challenges posed by universal trends. The necessity of it channel with the mounting role of brakes and other emerging market and developing countries in the world economy.

The aim of the bank was to assemble resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and also to the other developing countries like Bangladesh and India to counterpart in the global growth and development by the existing efforts of the multilateral and regional financial institutions. NDB is successfully extending its outreach since it was formed.

With the announcement of Bangladesh, the UAE and Uruguay were the first ones to become members. Troyjo said, in a statement after the incorporation of Bangladesh that “We are delighted to welcome Bangladesh, one of the growing economics, into the NDB. Bangladesh joining us in the year it celebrates the 50^th anniversary of its independence is an important milestone.”

The scope of the bank is really worthy of appraisal. According to various NDB Policy documents,” NDB lends directly to a member government or against its sovereign guarantee to the project executing an agency such as its appointed agency, banks, instrumentality, or political subdivision.” NBD provides sovereign guaranteed loans, foreign exchange, and national currency dominated loans with separate conditions.

Bangladesh has a huge possibility to meet the Sustainable Development Goals after joining NDB. It has a huge financial gap as it was estimated to need over $928 billion at 2015-16 prices between 2017-2030, equivalent to nearly 20% of GDP. This estimate, made before the pandemic, covered 80% of the 169 SDG targets. As Ndb has a chance to use their funds tactically to provide de-risking instruments to incentivize private finance for investments which Bangladesh would not otherwise materialize for higher or perceived risk, they can play a key role.

Moreover, their public institutional expertise and emerging market knowledge can be handy to deal in multi-stakeholder partnerships. Bangladesh is currently looking for more multi-stakeholder partnerships. Through the NDB, Bangladesh will have a new platform to foster cooperation in infrastructure and sustainable development with the existing and upcoming new members of Brics.

According to the statement of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa kamal, “ Bangladesh’s membership is the NDB has paved the way for a new partnership at a momentous time of the 50^th anniversary of our independence.” He also said, “Membership in the NDB is an important step forward in meeting the development vision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina”.

Source : The Daily Star , The Financial Express