Rising powers mull bank for developing nations

The trade ministers from BRICS countries Fernando Pimentel of Brazil, Elvira Nabiullina of Russia, Anand Sharma of India, Chen Deming of China, and Rob Davies of South Africa shake hands as they pose during the BRICS Business Forum in New Delhi yesterday. Photo: AFP

Developing nations again seem unlikely to propel one of their own citizens to the World Bank presidency. It may not matter. A group of rising powers is mulling its own alternative to Western-dominated lending institutions.
The proposal for a new development bank is one of many to be discussed by the five fast-growing nations known as BRICS when they meet for their fourth summit today in New Delhi.
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa account for 45 percent of the world's population and a quarter of economy at $13.5 trillion.
Increasingly crucial for world growth as flagging Western economies skimp on imports and aid, the BRICS have long argued for more influence in and reform of Western institutions. Such organizations have dominated global aid and trade policy for decades, but made patchy progress in meeting goals like eradicating poverty.
President Barack Obama's decision last week to continue the tradition of nominating an American as World Bank chief, over candidates from other nations as the BRICS had wanted, may add to momentum for an entirely new alternative.
A new international lender could rival the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, which focus on lending to poor nations to help speed their development and reduce poverty.
But experts cautioned that a lack of unity in foreign policy could undermine their goal.
What the five BRICS nations have in common, however, is a focus on eradicating poverty, securing food and energy supplies, developing infrastructure and gaining new technologies. They may also talk about a common position on climate change.