Dilma Rousseff, the former President of Brazil who is now the president of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), met today with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, where they are attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). President Putin welcomed her warmly and proclaimed: “I must note that over this year the bank has managed to do a lot under your leadership. It has shown a significant net profit for the first time; in fact, it is becoming sustainable and operating more smoothly and successfully.” He also asked that Rousseff pass on his warm regards to Brazilian President Lula da Silva and reported that the two had agreed recently to speak by phone in a few days, to discuss bilateral ties. “We look forward to seeking him at the BRICS summit in Kazan this autumn,” he affirmed.
According to their discussion transcribed on President Putin’s website, she underscored: “I believe that this is a very important moment that Russia is presiding at BRICS and organizing this forum. The relations between the bank and the BRICS member countries are very important. Russia and Brazil are co-founders of this bank, so Russia plays a very important role for developing countries.
“Today I had the honor to take part in this very important forum about the new emerging multipolar world. I believe that today the world increasingly needs to become more multipolar, as the Global North has not been able to solve the global problems of humanity.
“The NDB has specific goals: to fill this gap and provide the necessary investments; and Russia certainly plays a very important role in this. We are a different bank from the rest. We are a bank created by the countries of the Global South for the countries of the Global South, and we have some very important characteristics; we cannot impose conditions on our members.”
