Politics

Lula attends Rousseff’s investiture as BRICS bank president

Shanghai, China, Apr 13 (EFE).- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the investiture of his political ally Dilma Rousseff as the new head of the New Development Bank (NBD), an initiative of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Rousseff served as Lula’s successor in office between 2011 and 2016, after his first stint as president.

In a speech at the headquarters of the NBD, formerly BRICS development bank, in Shanghai, Lula called Rousseff a “strong woman” and claimed the legacy they both left in their presidencies helped save 36 million Brazilians from extreme poverty.

Lula said the NBD has all the conditions to become the great bank of the Global South, and stressed that Brazil was back on the international stage after being absent from it when the opposition was in power.

For her part, the new NBD president promised “innovative financing models,” capable of attracting public and private resources, as well as financing the bank’s projects in local currencies, which will favor domestic markets and reduce exposure to exchange rate fluctuations.

The NBD is a growing reflection of the need for countries to support each other taking into account the problems faced when it comes to funding, Rousseff said.

Rousseff was confirmed on Mar.24 as the new president of the NBD in place of Brazilian diplomat Marcos Prado Troyjo, who took office in 2020 with a mandate until 2025, which will now be completed by the former president of the South American country.

Rousseff, who had succeeded Lula as Brazilian president in 2011, was ousted in 2016 by Congress after an opposition-led impeachment process following alleged irregular budget management.

The NBD, with a capital of $100 billion, was founded in 2014 -when Rousseff was Brazil president- and is focused on the financing of infrastructure projects of its five members.

But it also supports other countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, admitted as partners in 2021.

Lula is on an official visit to China, which he has described as the most important one at the beginning of his third term, with the aim of reinforcing ties with the Asian giant, which has been Brazil’s main trading partner since 2009. EFE

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