Cabinet okays ratification of New Development Bank under BRICS
Staff Reporter :
The Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal of ratification of the agreement on the ‘New Development Bank (NDB)’, a multilateral bank established by the BRICS states. Bangladesh needs to ratify the agreement as it joined the bank.
The multilateral development bank NDB was established in 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) with the purpose of mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries.
The approval was given in the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held on Monday with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her Tejgaon office.
After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain briefed media at Secretariat about the meeting.
Mahbub Hossain said, “We’ve taken the membership of the bank. We’ve a handsome share in it. We want to strengthen our relationship with the bank.”
In the Monday’s meeting, the Cabinet also approved the draft of ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ extending the tenure of
vice chancellor, pro-vice chancellor and treasurer to four years from existing three years.
Besides, the drafts of ‘Sylhet Medical University (Amendment) Bill, 2023’, ‘District (Enforcement in Chittagong Hill Tracts Districts) Bill, 2023’ and ‘Bangladesh Police (Subordinate Employees) Welfare Fund Bill, 2023’ were also endorsed in the Monday’s Cabinet meeting.
In the meeting, the draft of ‘National Tariff Policy, 2023’ was also cleared, the Cabinet Secretary said.
Regarding the amendment of ‘Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain said that the draft law was designed to bring changes in several places of the existing Act of 1998.
“Now the tenure of vice chancellor, pro-vice chancellor and treasurer is three years, which has been extended to four years keeping similarity to the tenures in other public universities,” he said.
According to the amended draft of ‘Sylhet Medical University (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ the name of Sylhet Medical University will be changed as ‘Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Medical University, Sylhet’ from onwards. As per the draft laws, the expenditures of the two universities can be audited by the office of Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh.
Regarding joining the NDB, the Cabinet Secretary said that Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became its members in 2021, while Egypt in 2023. So, the number of its members is eight.
Replying to a question how Bangladesh would benefit from the ratification of this agreement, the Mahbub Hossain said several projects are already there.
“The projects of over Tk600 crore are in the pipeline (from the bank). If the agreement is ratified, the projects (the fund) will be available,” he said. In reply to another question, he said that the bank is also working on an alternative currency.
Mahbub Hossain said lending agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Banks (ADB) don’t finance fossil fuel-related projects, but the NDB has no restriction in this regard.
