Rousseff : BRICS Bank ‘Was Created as an Alternative’ to Today’s Failed System

July 6—New Development Bank (NDB) President Dilma Rousseff delivered the opening speech to the NDB’s tenth anniversary meeting of its board of directors July 4. She presented an optimistic picture of the role the BRICS bank would play in the future of the Global South.

“The creation of the New Development Bank was more than an institutional milestone,” Rouseff, the former President of Brazil, stated. “It was a political statement—a declaration that the Global South would no longer be a passive recipient of externally imposed development models, but rather an active architect of its own future…. Infrastructure, industrial and technological modernization, and sustainability should be financed not through the imposition of uniform models, but by promoting social justice and advancing sovereignty. The NDB was created as an alternative—and more importantly, as an affirmation of the principle that development must be sustainable, inclusive, resilient, and sovereign.”

She explained that the current crisis in the world "demands more—not less—cooperation. And it demands institutions that reflect today’s realities and aspirations—not only those of eight decades ago…. That is why our mission remains not only relevant, but essential. …

“We are not here to replace anyone—but rather to prove that there is more than one way to foster development…. We must remain committed to physical and social infrastructure. Roads, ports, water systems, housing, public transportation, and healthcare remain essential to building inclusive and resilient societies….

“To meet these challenges, we must innovate. We should strengthen local currency financing, explore bilateral swap arrangements, help our member countries reduce exposure to external volatility, and deepen domestic capital markets. We must expand our partnership network—with national development banks, other multilateral development banks, the private sector, and academia….

“Let me be clear: we are just getting started. Let this be the golden decade of the institution—a decade in which we act boldly, think long-term, and stay true to the spirit that gave birth to this Bank.”