Ufa hosts annual meeting of governors of banks involved in BRICS interbank cooperation

Meeting participants focused on cooperation with the New Development Bank (NDB). The press release published on the official website of Vnesheconombank (VEB) reads: "The participants noted the importance of the document declaring their intention to cooperate with the New Development Bank (NDB) and specifying the parameters and principles of such cooperation. They are planning to sign this document in the presence of the heads of state at the BRICS Summit on 9 July, 2015."

NDB President Kundapur Vaman Kamath attended the meeting as a special guest. He shared his vision about the bank's future role and described potential areas of its investment activity.

In turn, VEB Head and Chair of the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism Vladimir Dmitriyev pointed out: "Considering that the BRICS development banks are large state development institutions with global authority and reputation, our cooperation will promote the development of the NDB in the near future."

During the meeting, representatives of BRICS banks expressed their satisfaction with the development of cooperation in innovations and high technology. To enhance cooperation in this area, they decided to establish a permanent working group on innovations and high technology. Its main task will be to create a data base of projects in this field with a view to funding them jointly.

The participants also discussed settlements in the national currencies of BRICS countries. They recognised that to increase the scale of mutual settlements in national currencies, it is necessary to study the obstacles in their way, including legal barriers, and find ways to remove them. It is also essential to study the requirements of businesses for receiving loans in national currencies.