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October 25 Update: Algeria has now been granted ‘BRICS Partner’ status. See more here.
Algeria has been granted membership in the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), the bank president, Dilma Rousseff, and Algeria’s Finance Ministry have announced. The decision was made on Saturday (August 31) at the ninth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the NDB in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Algerian Finance Ministry said in a statement that “Algeria joining this important development institution, which is considered the financial arm of the BRICS, is a major step in the path of integration into the global financial system.”
The NDB was established in 2015 by the BRICS group of developing countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – with the goal of mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the bloc and other emerging markets. The multilateral development bank has subsequently admitted Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay as new members in 2021 as part of an expansion move.
Rousseff stated that the NDB has “a process to authorize new members to the bank, and Algeria was authorized to become a member of the NDB.” Algiers’ Finance Ministry said the country’s admission to the BRICS NDB had been made possible due to the former French colony’s recent outstanding economic performance, saying that “Algeria joining the New Development Bank opens new horizons to support and promote the country’s medium and long-term economic growth.”
Algeria is one of Russia’s long-standing African partners, and has been working hard to diversify its economy. It has the world’s 11th largest gas and 16th largest oil reserves. Fellow BRICS members Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia (not yet officially a member but an active participant), and the United Arab Emirates, all possess vast energy reserves.
Algieria has also applied to become a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which consists of China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, Iran, India, and Pakistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced in May. Currently, 14 countries, with Egypt being the only African state, hold SCO dialogue partner status, allowing them to participate in the organization’s specialized events at the invitation of its members.
Algeria has a 2024 estimated GDP (PPP) of US$768 billion and is on course to become a trillion-dollar economy. It has a population of 45 million and a GDP (PPP) per capita of US$16,483. Its 2023 GDP economic growth rate was 4.2%.
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