After Algeria’s membership in the BRICS was turned down, many, mostly Algerians, are now wondering about the fate of the sum of 1.5 bln dollars that president Abdelmajid Tebboune said Algeria would inject in the grouping’s new development bank (NDB). Algerian financial experts are adamant in denying the money transfer to the new financial institution, as per Atalayar’s news story on Sunday.
The union of countries known as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) has added six new members, namely Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, KSA, and UAE, with other countries on the waiting list.
The Algerian leader was pinning hope on joining the grouping and impetuously announced the exorbitant contribution, while the country is struggling with shortage of basic commodities like milk, beans and lentils, in other words “the poor people food.”
Financial analysts explain that the grandiose declaration made by Tebboune has nothing to do with the real procedure to become a shareholder in a bank. The concerned party needs first to submit an application to the bank board. The process can be long before the board accepts a new shareholder and decides on the number of shares the party will own. Above all, the said party should be a state member of BRICS.
Algeria’s Finance Minister Laaziz Faid held a fringe meeting, last Thursday in Johannesburg (South Africa), with President of the NDB Dilma Rousseff, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. The discussion on Algeria’s membership in the bank proves that the institution never received the trumpeted sum.