By John Ikani
Algeria has received the green light to join the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), according to an official announcement from the country’s finance ministry.
The decision was finalized on Saturday and shared by NDB head Dilma Roussef during a gathering in Cape Town, South Africa.
“By becoming a part of this significant development organization, the financial branch of the BRICS group, Algeria is making a substantial stride towards integrating into the global financial system,” stated the Algerian finance ministry.
The bank associated with the BRICS group of nations – an acronym derived from the initial letters of its founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – aims to provide an alternative to established international financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF.
Algeria’s acceptance into the bank was attributed to “the robustness of the country’s macroeconomic indicators,” which have shown “impressive performance in recent years” and elevated the North African nation to the status of an “upper-tier emerging economy,” the finance ministry explained.
Being a member of the BRICS bank will present Algeria, Africa’s top exporter of natural gas, with “fresh opportunities to bolster and fortify its economic growth in the medium and long term,” the ministry further noted.
Established in 2015, the NDB’s core objective is to gather resources for projects in emerging markets and developing nations.
It has extended membership to several other countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
