Banking on sustainability to spur growth

Editor's note: Mr Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr, vice-president of the New Development Bank, shares his views with China Daily's Wu Zheyu on how BRICS can deepen cooperation and the bank's role in promoting it. Excerpts follow:

To what extent have the five member states fulfilled the commitments they made at previous summits, and how can they deepen their partnerships?

The five BRICS countries have met regularly at leaders' level since 2009, and they have come a long way since then. They've contributed greatly, not only in their own cooperation, but also for the whole world. They've been recognized as major voices in all international debates concerning important global issues. In recent years, BRICS cooperation moved to a new level with the creation of the New Development Bank and the BRICS monetary fund, i.e. the contingent reserve arrangement. These are the two concrete arrangements that stand out and show how five important emerging countries can work together.