Colombia Joins BRICS’ New Development Bank
Dilma Rousseff (L) and Gustavo Petro (R), 2025. x/ @co1ombia
June 19, 2025 Hour: 12:13 pm
This membership opens new financing opportunities for strategic projects, the Colombian presidency stated.
On Thursday, Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia announced that her country has been admitted into the New Development Bank (NDB), the financial institution established by the BRICS group of emerging economies led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
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“I welcome this news, which goes beyond finance and broadens our horizons. Colombia officially joins the BRICS bank, led by Dilma Rousseff, following a request made by President Gustavo Petro in Shanghai,” Sarabia posted on social media.
“This membership opens new financing opportunities for strategic projects and is a key step in diversifying alliances and strengthening the country’s economy,” the Colombian presidency stated.
On May 16, during a meeting with Rousseff in Shanghai, Colombian President Gustavo Petro formally requested to join the BRICS bank. During his visit to China, he also took part in a meeting between Chinese authorities and representatives of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), currently chaired by Colombia.
At the time, Petro delivered a letter to Rousseff from Colombia’s Finance Minister, German Avila, expressing the country’s interest in joining the NDB as a borrowing member.
“Colombia is willing to subscribe to 5,125 shares of the authorized capital of the New Development Bank, of which 4,100 are callable shares (as guarantees) and 1,025 are paid-in shares (in cash),” Avila said.
This amounts to a subscribed capital of US$512.5 million, including US$410 million in callable capital and US$102.5 million in paid-in capital, the Colombian finance minister added.
The BRICS bloc was originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Last year, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia joined as full members.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: EFE – Colombian Presidency
