Development bank expands BRICS platform

The BRICS development bank will take shape at the fifth BRICS summit to be held in the eastern port city of Durban, South Africa, next month.

The governments of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will each make an initial capital injection of $10 billion to fund the bank, which will not only symbolize the unity of the world's five most dynamic economies and showcase the rise of emerging nations, it will also become a global tool for "mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries".

Despite their political and cultural differences, the five countries share many common economic and trade interests and similar views on global and regional political issues. The bank can play a constructive role in multiple arenas by capitalizing on the fact that between them the five members of BRICS have 26 percent of the world's land, 42 percent of the world's population, 20 percent of the world's GDP, 15 percent of the world's trade volume, and contribute about 50 percent of the world's economic growth.