(Sputniknews, To Vima) Russia’s Deputy Minister of Finances Sergei Storchak has invited Greece to join the under-development new growth bank that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the so-called “BRICS
Mr. Storchak, who spoke to the Athens-Macedonia News Agency, argued that the goal of the BRICS-sponsored growth bank will be to secure their credit autonomy and to compete with the IMF and World Bank. The bank currently has 50 billion dollars in capital, with a further 100 billion-euro foreign exchange reserve.
According to the Russian official, by joining the venture, Greece will be ale to fund a series of development projects. Mr. Storchak argued that the country’s ties with Russia could be strengthened if the ruble be used for payment of goods and services.
The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has arranged to visit St. Petersburg in Russia between the 18th and 20th of June, where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday spoke on the telephone with visiting Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak, who repeated his invitation to Greece to join a new BRICS Development Bank as its sixth member.
Storchak was in Greece on Monday as a representative of the BRICS development bank, set up by the emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
The Greek prime minister thanked Storchak for the invitation, saying it was a pleasant surprise, and also expressed Greece’s interest and promised that it will examine the proposal in depth, the sources said.
Tsipras said he would have an opportunity to discuss the proposal at length with the BRICS country leaders when he visits St. Petersburg for the International Economic Forum (SPIEF) taking place there on June 18-20.
BRICS
On July 15, 2014, in Fortaleza, Brazil, the BRICS member countries signed an agreement to establish the $100 billion New Development Bank, formerly referred to as the BRICS bank, and a reserve currency pool set at $100 billion. Russia will contribute $18 billion to the pool, along with India and Brazil. China is expected to contribute the largest share of $41 billion, with South Africa chipping in the remaining $5 billion.
The bank is expected to be one of the largest financial institutions to fund various infrastructure projects in the BRICS countries and emerging economies.
The BRICS group of prominent emerging economies was established in 2010, when South Africa joined Brazil, Russia, India and China in what was previously known as the BRIC nations. The BRICS countries make up about 40 percent of the world’s population and a combined economy of about $16 trillion.
