The New Development Bank (NDB), the Shanghai-based multilateral bank of the Brics countries, will open its first regional office in India at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to cater to infrastructure and sustainable development needs of the country, the bank said in a statement on Friday.
The India office will focus on expanding its footprint in the country with planning and implementing new projects as well as monitoring them.
“The Indian Regional Office (IRO) will be instrumental in enhancing NDB’s engagement with borrowers and stakeholders. IRO expands our on-the-ground presence, contributing to preparing and implementing projects,” NDB president Marcos Troyjo said.
The new India office will complement NDB’s existing regional offices. It officially opened its Africa Regional Center (ARC) in Johannesburg in 2017; Americas Regional Office (ARO) in São Paulo with a sub-office in Brasília n 2019, and the Eurasian Regional Centre (ERC) in Moscow in 2020.
The NDB was established by Brics countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – and was formally opened in July 2015. Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Uruguay have since joined the bank.
The NDB has so far approved 21 Indian projects, involving funding of $7.1 billion.
Since the beginning of its operations, NDB approved about 80 projects, totaling a portfolio of $30 billion.
Projects in sectors such as transport, water and sanitation, clean energy, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure and urban development are within the scope of the bank.
On Thursday, while participating in the seventh annual meeting of NDB’s board of governors by video link, Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the bank had successfully established itself as a reliable partner for emerging market economies.
Speaking at the meeting, Sitharaman said India’s economic growth in the current financial year has been robust and is estimated to be 8.9%, which is the highest among all large economies.
“This reflects India’s strong resilience and speedy recovery,” she was quoted as saying in an official statement.
The NDB’s board of governors on Thursday approved the bank’s general strategy for 2022–2026 titled Scaling Up Development Finance for a Sustainable Future, aimed at making the bank a leading provider of solutions for infrastructure and sustainable development, for emerging market economies and developing countries.
Despite its plans for the future, the ongoing Russian invasion has cast a shadow on its projects in Russia, a founding member.
In March, the bank announced that it had put new “transactions in Russia” on hold.
“In light of unfolding uncertainties and restrictions, NDB has put new transactions in Russia on hold. NDB will continue to conduct business in full conformity with the highest compliance standards as an international institution,” the bank said in a statement posted on its website.
“The NDB applies sound banking principles in all its operations, as stated in its Articles of Agreement,” it said.
It was the second China-based multilateral bank after the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to stop its projects in Russia and Belarus following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
