BRICS readies $15-billion Covid loan package

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28

A webinar by BRICS foreign ministers on Tuesday decided to increase emergency aid from their common bank by $ 15 billion to help its five founding members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—during the Covid epidemic.

The BRICS Bank, called the New Development Bank (NDB) and headed by former ICICI Bank chief K V Kamath, has already allocated $ 1 billion to India out of $ 5 billion in its first tranche of loans. India has asked NDB to double the amount to $ 10 billion.

In case the $ 15 billion decided today is apportioned equally, India should get $ 3 billion. If the $ 1 billion announced earlier is also added, NDB with $ 4 billion (about Rs 30,000 crore) to India is the biggest multilateral loan provider so far. The ADB has promised $ 2.1 billion to India and the World Bank $ 1 billion but both will substantially increase the Covid package.

Making the announcement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We also discussed the illegitimate curse of unilateral measures, or so-called sanctions outside the UN charter that puts obstacles to our effort to combat Covid.” Lavrov was referring to US sanctions against Russia and Iran that have not been approved by the UN.

A Ministry of External Affairs statement was silent on both aspects but highlighted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s suggestion for BRICS to support and recognise the efficacy of traditional medicine systems to strengthen immunity.

He also emphasised that the current challenge underlines all the more the need for reform of multilateral systems. Jaishankar also spoke about the $ 23 billion package for the poor and the Arogya Setu Citizen App.

Lavrov said the “common opinion” at the webinar was that the World Health Organisation was a “very important instrument, a unique platform” that gathers all information and makes it available to countries. Asked whether BRICS countries will make up for the shortfall because of US decision not to contribute its share to WHO, Lavrov said the US was also the biggest beneficiary. Most of the staff in the WHO Secretariat are Americans, he added.