Amid growing global economic uncertainty, the New Development Bank intends, under new leadership, to continue unleashing its potential to support emerging economies and developing countries, and to renew its commitment to sustainable development.

The Shanghai-based bank, founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in 2015, aims to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies.

On Thursday, Dilma Rousseff, a well-known Brazilian politician and economist, assumed the post of president of this multilateral institution. The former President of Brazil is expected to build on the achievements of her predecessors and write a new chapter for South-South cooperation and global sustainable development.

Rousseff said in an interview with Xinhua that investing in infrastructure development, addressing social inequality, reducing climate change and achieving sustainable development goals will be priorities during her tenure, while emphasizing the importance of the local currency in the financing process.

The NDB President stated that the bank can contribute to combating climate change and achieving the sustainable development goals, for example, by investing in alternative energy sources.

The bank's overall strategy for 2022-2026, approved by the Board of Governors last year, aims to save $30 billion over the next five years. During this period, the Bank will expand its operations with the private sector, double its development impact and direct 40 percent of its approvals to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

"As a former president of Brazil, I know the importance of multilateral banks working to support developing countries, especially the New Development Bank, in addressing their economic, social and environmental needs," Rousseff said during her inauguration ceremony in Shanghai on Thursday.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who attended Rousseff's inauguration during a state visit to China, expressed confidence in the bank's promising future under the new leadership.

Lula said that the bank has the characteristics that enable it to become one of the largest banks in the countries of the South, and has great potential in terms of improving the situation of developing countries.

The Bank, with a history of more than seven years, has evolved from a start-up organization into a major development solutions provider, with its project portfolio including investments in areas such as clean energy, urban mobility, water, sanitation, transportation, and social and digital infrastructure.

In July 2016, about a year after it began operations, the bank launched its first bond issue -- a green bond denominated in the Chinese currency renminbi, or yuan, for 3 billion yuan ($449 million). It was sold on the interbank bond market in China.

Hailing this issuance and describing it as a landmark for the Multilateral Development Bank, former NDB President K. in. Kamath It (issue) may help promote sustainable development and will support greater use of clean and renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a daily press conference in late March that the bank has so far approved 99 loan projects with a total value of more than $34 billion, which provides strong support for infrastructure construction and sustainable development for emerging markets and developing countries. .

Home to more than 40 percent of the world's population and accounting for nearly a quarter of the global economy, BRICS countries strive for openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, as evidenced by their efforts to expand the family of the New Development Bank.

In 2021, the Bank began expanding its membership and agreed to accept Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay as its new members, adding more than 280 million people who can benefit from the Bank's mission and strengthen the Bank's global reach.

For his part, Egyptian economics professor Fakhri al-Fiqi, who is also the head of a parliamentary committee concerned, confirmed that the bank is expected to become a "global financing platform", especially for developing and emerging economies, which means that the door is open for emerging economies to join it and contribute to raising its capital.

"The New Development Bank is the product of a partnership between BRICS countries with the aim of creating a world with less poverty, less inequality and greater sustainability," and it is very different from traditional banks dominated by developed countries, Lula noted.

"Developing countries have always had a dream of finding their own investment and financing tools. The New Development Bank has made such a dream come true, because it really knows what developing countries need and the areas they need to invest in," he said.