The New Development Bank (NDB) held its Third Annual Meeting in Shanghai on May 28-29, welcoming high-level delegates including government ministers, senior figures from multilateral development institutions and business leaders from the BRICS member nations. The event included seminars and high-level meetings focused on the definitive measures the NDB is taking to drive sustainable development in emerging markets based on innovation and disruptive technology. The NDB also announced key updates from management and shared insights on how new-age innovation will impact the work of the NDB in close collaboration with other multilateral development institutions.

The two-day event held in Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district included the participation of Mr. Marcello de Moura Estevao Filho, Secretary for International Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Brazil; Mr. Sergei Storchak, Deputy Minister of Finance, Russia; Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary (Economic Affairs), Ministry of Finance, India; Mr. Kun Liu, Minister of Finance, China; and Mr. Nhlanhla Nene, Minister of Finance, South Africa. Hundreds of representatives of civil society organizations, media, academia, government and business from the BRICS nations also attended.

During the meetings of the Board of Governors (BoG) and the Board of Directors (BoD), their members reviewed the progress of the Bank and elaborated on plans to support the expansion of the NDB’s business scope in line with the Bank’s mandate.

Board Meetings Announcements

Mr. Nhlanhla Nene was elected as the Chairman of the BoG, and will serve in this position until the end of the next BoG Annual Meeting. It was also decided that the next Annual Meeting of the Bank’s BoG will be held in South Africa in 2019.

During the Meeting, the BoG approved the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 and also approved the Condensed Unaudited Financial Statements for the NDB Project Preparation Fund for the year ended December 31, 2017.

During the 14th BoD Meeting, the Board discussed the Bank’s work, including project pipelines in the member countries of the NDB.

The BoD approved six projects from all five member countries of the NDB with loans aggregating USD 1.6 billion. It was highlighted that in 2018 the Bank has significantly strengthened its project portfolio, and the total amount of approvals in 2018 has reached USD 1.7 billion. As of now, the total amount of the Bank’s portfolio has reached over USD 5.1 billion.

“The biggest economic opportunity today is that we can invest in a new generation of smart, sustainable technologies to meet our infrastructure requirements. We will leverage these transformations and promote knowledge flows to support appropriate and effective solutions in our member countries,” Mr. K.V. Kamath, President of NDB, said at the Opening Ceremony of the Third Annual Meeting. “By doing so, we will contribute to sustainable development and poverty alleviation. As we do so, we at the NDB will continue to listen, to learn, and to innovate.”

In the opening seminar titled “Development Financing in a Changing Global Environment“, participants addressed the ongoing technological advances that will affect our future and the operating environment for development institutions. The finance ministers of the BRICS nations gave their high-level insights, reflecting on how multilateral development institutions could adapt to the emerging economic realities including technological advances such as artificial intelligence and block chain and also the operating environment for development institutions.

The second seminar titled “Innovative Approaches for Mobilising Finance for Sustainable Infrastructure Development” considered the role of development institutions in supporting innovation and sustainable infrastructure development during the fourth industrial revolution. The panelists shared their views on lending models, including local currency financing and other alternative models for raising funds, and how to attract private sector and other institutional lenders.

In the third seminar titled “The Social Aspects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Digital Economy”, prominent representatives of academia, civil society organisations and social leaders from the BRICS nations addressed the impact of new technological trends. It was noted that while tremendous economic opportunities will be created, some countries and social groups will require the special attention and support of multilateral development institutions to avoid being left behind in a fast-changing global economic landscape