Brazilian ex-president to chair BRICS bank

Former Brazilian head of state Dilma Rousseff has been named as the next president of the BRICS group’s New Development Bank after Brazil won the backing of its partners for the appointment on Friday.

The nominee was agreed by Brazil’s government, which is currently headed by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Rousseff, who served as the president of Brazil between 2011 and 2016, will replace Brazilian diplomat Marcos Troyjo, who was appointed by the country’s previous leader Jair Bolsonaro.

Rousseff will hold the position until the end of the current Brazilian mandate in the bank’s management in 2025, and is expected to accompany President da Silva during his visit to China scheduled for March.

The BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are working to develop their own financial infrastructure, including a joint payment network, with some member states having already switched to trade in local currencies in order to reduce dependence on the US dollar and euro.

The five BRICS economies currently account for more than 40% of the world’s population and nearly a quarter of global GDP.