In May, the 11th annual meeting of the New Development Bank’s Board of Governors was held in Moscow. It was one of the key events on the agenda for economic cooperation among the BRICS+ countries.
The meeting took place against a backdrop of transformation in the global economy, the development of new trade and financial links, and the expanding use of digital technologies. Against this backdrop, the countries of the Global South are paying particular attention to finding effective mechanisms for financing infrastructure projects and attracting long-term investment. Participants noted the importance of modernising transport and energy infrastructure, as well as building the technological base necessary for sustainable economic growth and enhancing the competitiveness of national economies.
Artificial intelligence (AI), cloud platforms, data centres, and information storage systems are gradually becoming as fundamental to economic development as transport corridors and energy capacity once were. This is precisely why the issue of financing digital transformation has risen to the level of a strategic priority for the BRICS+ states.
In a video address to the meeting’s participants, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin emphasised that access to technology determines a country’s ability to adapt to rapid changes in the global economy, and that countries investing in innovation become centres of attraction for capital. He also noted that the BRICS share of global GDP has reached 40 per cent and continues to grow. Against this backdrop, development institutions capable of financing large-scale projects and supporting the modernisation of the BRICS+ economies are taking on particular significance.
For the NDB, the Moscow meeting provided an opportunity to chart the course for its future development. While the Bank’s first 12 years of operation were largely devoted to transport, energy, and utilities infrastructure, attention is now increasingly turning to its role in technological transformation. The central theme of the Moscow meeting was the concept of “Development Financing in an Era of Technological Revolution”, which reflects the desire to view technology not as a separate sector but as a fundamental factor in the long-term competitiveness of nations.
In its final communiqué, the Board of Governors set out guidelines for the preparation of the Bank’s overall strategy for 2027–2031. It is this document that will determine the extent to which the NDB’s mandate in the field of technology financing will be expanded.
The institutional rationale behind the strategy update
In total, the value of projects approved by the NDB has exceeded US$40 billion. Meanwhile, the Bank faces a challenge typical of many relatively young multilateral banks: the need to establish its own long-term specialisation. The wide range of projects has enabled the creation of a diversified portfolio but, at the same time, has raised the question of the NDB’s unique place within the international development finance system. The more clearly strategic priorities are defined, the easier it is to develop long-term cooperation programmes and attract capital.
The Moscow meeting demonstrated that digital infrastructure is emerging as one possible area of specialisation. In fact, a broader approach to understanding infrastructure as the foundation of economic development is under discussion. Within this framework, digital infrastructure is viewed as a prerequisite for industrial growth, the modernisation of governance and increased labour productivity.
For the NDB, this approach opens up the opportunity to carve out its own niche. Unlike commercial institutions, a multilateral development bank is capable of financing projects with a long payback period, the importance of which is determined by the long-term objectives of economic modernisation. An important advantage is that the Bank was established by the developing countries themselves – this allows priorities to be set on the basis of their strategic needs rather than external criteria.
How the Bank’s lending policy will change
One of the most significant outcomes of the Moscow meeting was the establishment of a new strategic framework, in which technology is viewed not as an additional element of infrastructure projects, but as a standalone object of long-term financing.
In practice, this means that the Bank’s lending policy will undergo significant changes. Whereas previously the key criteria for evaluating projects were the physical scale of construction and traditional return-on-investment metrics, parameters such as the computing power of the facilities being built, their integration into national digital ecosystems and the potential for the development of related sectors are now coming to the fore. The Bank will need to review its approaches to risk assessment: technology projects become obsolete more quickly and require a different forecasting model.
In the long term, projects related to the development of data centres, cloud platforms, artificial intelligence solutions, data storage, and the creation of a technological infrastructure for digital services may take on particular significance. These facilities play an increasingly important role in strengthening countries’ technological competitiveness.
“The greatest potential lies not in individual technologies but at their intersection. The NDB should finance not just data centres but also a distributed cloud platform for settlements in national currencies. Not just AI, but AI designed to optimise cross-border logistics and energy flows. And cybersecurity here is not a separate component but an overarching layer protecting every project. The smartest move for the NDB would be to establish a competitive selection process for projects that are already operational in at least three member countries from the outset. Then the funding will provide not just servers but an interconnected digital ecosystem” Abed Amiri
Representative of BRICS Hub and an expert in economic and technological cooperation within BRICS, digital transformation and the use of AI in business
Funding for independent digital service and technology providers across BRICS+ countries and the Global South could become increasingly important. For many developing countries, access to their own computing power, cloud solutions, data storage infrastructure and digital platforms is becoming a key prerequisite for long-term economic growth. In this context, the NDB is capable of acting not only as a source of capital, but also as an institution facilitating the development of a sustainable technological ecosystem across the member countries.
For the NDB, this means adapting its project financing and evaluation mechanisms. As a result, the Bank can gradually shift from supporting individual infrastructure projects to developing comprehensive innovation ecosystems.
NDB President Dilma Rousseff outlined her vision for the Bank’s future evolution: “The NDB will continue to pursue gradual, balanced membership expansion and strengthen its role as a unified voice and platform for the Global South, amplifying members’ priorities, facilitating South-South cooperation, and mobilising collective solutions to shared development challenges.”
BRICS expansion and the shift towards local currencies
The expansion of BRICS has become one of the most significant factors influencing the NDB’s long-term agenda. The accession of new member states increases the diversity of funding requests: the economies of the new members differ in terms of industrial structure, level of digitalisation and investment priorities. The Bank will need to work on a broader range of projects, where technology-based initiatives are becoming increasingly important alongside traditional infrastructure.
In this context, the commitment to expanding financing in national currencies, reaffirmed at the meeting, takes on particular significance. President Dilma Rousseff stated that financing in national currencies would remain a strategic priority for the Bank. At the same time, particular attention will be paid to expanding operational cooperation with new members, including with a view to developing operations in all countries that have recently been granted borrower status. “The Bank will be strengthening its role as a platform for cooperation among its members,” she emphasised.
For borrowers, this approach helps to mitigate the risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations, which is particularly important for large-scale infrastructure projects with long implementation periods. For the NDB itself, this policy reflects a desire to establish a diversified financial architecture within the organisation. The higher the proportion of operations conducted in national currencies, the greater the scope for financing projects without being constrained by external factors. Furthermore, scaling up this area will require ensuring sufficient liquidity and developing currency risk management tools.
As noted by Mikhail Khachaturyan, Associate Professor of the Department of Strategic and Innovative Development at the Financial University under the Government of Russia, expanding financing in national currencies through the NDB has the potential to yield significant economic benefits: reducing dependence on reserve currencies, cutting transaction costs and strengthening the financial sovereignty of participating countries. Additionally, the expert points to a number of structural risks: liquidity issues for certain currency pairs, regulatory differences between the BRICS+ countries, and exchange rate volatility, which, without a developed hedging system, could become a significant obstacle to scaling up such operations.
A similar assessment is also provided by the Russian Ministry of Finance. Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia Ivan Chebeskov noted that the BRICS countries’ interest in establishing a sovereign financial infrastructure has grown significantly; however, “creating a sovereign environment of trust between countries is not straightforward due to the existence of competing standards”. According to him, the countries now face the task of discussing the mutual recognition of instruments in this area.
Challenges of the new strategy
The transition to more active financing of digital infrastructure presents a number of serious challenges. The BRICS+ countries differ significantly in terms of their level of technological development, the extent of digitalisation of their economies and the state of their national infrastructure. This requires the development of approaches that will allow the specific characteristics of each country to be taken into account when implementing joint projects.
The harmonisation of standards is an equally important task. Effective cooperation between countries in the digital sphere requires compatible technical solutions, common approaches to data processing and agreed requirements for infrastructure projects. Establishing such a foundation will help to accelerate the implementation of cross-border digital initiatives.
Assessing the effectiveness of technological solutions presents a further challenge. Unlike traditional infrastructure, the results of digital technology projects are often more difficult to measure using conventional financial indicators. The Bank will need to develop new approaches to assessing the risks and long-term economic impact of such projects.
Scaling up technology financing will require additional resources. Expanding digital infrastructure is impossible without attracting new sources of capital and major institutional investors interested in long-term investments in developing the technological potential of the Global South.
“To minimise risks, further work will be required on synchronising central bank swap lines, harmonising regulatory requirements, developing the cyber resilience of systems and strengthening the legal framework. The success of the initiative will depend on the ability of the BRICS+ countries to overcome internal differences and develop common approaches to financial integration” Mikhail Khachaturyan
Expert in the economics of the BRICS, SCO, and ASEAN countries
For his part, Abed Amiri highlights four measurable criteria for digital projects. “The first is the proportion of local software and hardware in the project, with a minimum threshold of 60 per cent. The second is the time taken to reach operational profitability, excluding preferential financing, which must not exceed five years. The third is the scalability factor: the project’s architecture must be deployable in any BRICS+ country without modification. The fourth is the insurance reserve: the NDB freezes 15 per cent of the investment amount as a safety net in case of sanctions or disruptions. Innovation is all well and good, but a digital project that collapses at the first sign of a crisis is not worth a single rouble or yuan,” the expert emphasises.
Opportunities for the Global South
The decisions taken at the Moscow meeting have importance far beyond the NDB’s loan portfolio. In effect, this is about shaping a new framework for the group’s financial architecture.
The combination of two vectors – financing digital infrastructure and expanding operations in national currencies – lays the foundation for greater autonomy for BRICS+ countries in the sphere of long-term development. These nations gain not merely access to capital, but the opportunity to build their own technological and financial foundations, thereby reducing their dependence on external players.
The main outcome of the meeting lies in a shift in the very understanding of development. The content of the general strategy for 2027–2031 will reveal just how far the bank is prepared to go down this path.
Courtesy/ TV BRICS
