Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono held a bilateral meeting with President of the New Development Bank (NDB) Dilma Rousseff on the sidelines of BRICS Plus summit in Kazan, Russia on October 23-24, 2024.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 that at the beginning of the meeting, Sugiono presented various Indonesia’s national strategic programs, such as the public housing program, school sanitation improvement, free nutritious meals program, and biofuel-based energy transition.
The foreign minister also said that those Indonesia’s national strategic programs have many similarities with NDB’s funding assistance programs.
Meanwhile, the NDB President hinted that the Indonesian government’s programs are in line with NDB’s mandate to fight inequality. She also shared the experience of several BRICS countries such as Brazil, which have successfully implemented programs, especially public housing and energy transition programs.
Dilma encouraged Indonesia to join the NDB soon and welcomed the potential for future cooperation.
NDB is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS’ early founding countries to support infrastructure and sustainable development projects in developing countries. The NDB was established in July 2014 and has its headquarters in Shanghai, China and its Africa Regional Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Indonesia has been invited to join the NDB since 2022 and is currently reviewing it.