This marks the first official participation of the New Development Bank in a formal event in Morocco, despite the North African country not being a member of the organization
The BRICS Group’s New Development Bank (NDB) is showing interest in welcoming Morocco as a new member, according to the bank’s Chief Operating Officer, Anand Kumar Srivastava. The bank is also preparing to finance its first projects in Egypt, which joined the bloc last year.
In an interview with Asharq Business, Srivastava indicated that the bank is open to Morocco’s potential membership. “At present, Morocco is not a member of the New Development Bank,” Srivastava said.
“Membership begins with the country contacting BRICS and then starting the process, after which they pay a share of the capital to become a full member, and then they can benefit from financing operations,” he added. “We hope that Morocco will become a member as well, because we are in the process of expanding.”
The COO made these statements during a conference in Rabat on Monday on government procurement that meets environmental standards. This marks the first official participation of the New Development Bank in a formal event in Morocco, despite the North African country not being a member of the organization.
Representatives from several international development banks attended the conference, including the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the French Development Agency, which are among the country’s largest lenders.
The founding BRICS member states – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – established the NDB in 2015. Egypt, the UAE, and Bangladesh joined last year. A decade after its launch, the bank’s financing has reached $39 billion across 122 projects in member countries, according to Srivastava.
Interest in BRICS bloc membership has surged globally, with Morocco among the nations eyeing potential cooperation. Last December, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov revealed that Morocco was among more than 20 countries actively pursuing dialogue with BRICS.
“The doors of the association remain open to like-minded countries. At the moment, over two dozen more countries have shown interest in a dialogue with BRICS,” Ushakov stated, noting that countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Palestine, Syria, and South Sudan are among those interested.
However, when reports claiming Morocco was seeking BRICS membership surfaced in 2023, an authorized source from Morocco’s Foreign Ministry denied the news. Rabat had never formally applied for membership, the government official stressed.
“Morocco does indeed maintain substantial and promising bilateral relations with the other four members of the Group, and is even linked to three of them by Strategic Partnership Agreements,” the source asserted.
Despite South Africa’s opposition, other members of the 2009-founded bloc appear more open to engagement with Morocco. In September, Morocco was invited to participate in the BRICS Forum 2024 on partnership for the new industrial revolution, held in Xiamen, China.
Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Ryad Mezzour, represented the country at the event, which focused on fostering collaboration and exploring potential partnerships with BRICS countries.
Morocco World News
