President Lula's speech at the opening of the 10th Annual Meeting of the BRICS New Development Bank

It is a great pleasure to take part in the opening of the 10th Meeting of the New Development Bank, alongside my dear fellow, President Dilma Rousseff [former President of the Republic].

I would like to welcome Algeria’s recent entry as a full member of the NDB, as well as the ongoing accession processes of Colombia, Uzbekistan, and Uruguay.

Other major countries, such as Indonesia and Turkey, have also expressed interest in joining.

This demonstrates the NDB’s potential to attract partners and to serve as an inclusive, effective, and representative forum for multilateral financial cooperation.

The NDB was born here in Brazil, during the Fortaleza Summit in 2014.

The decision to establish it marked a milestone in the joint efforts of emerging countries.

It is the result of a shared desire to overcome the profound financing gap for sustainable development.

The lack of effective reforms in traditional financial institutions has, for decades, limited the volume and types of credit offered by multilateral banks.

The Seville Conference, which concluded just a few days ago, made it clear that the resources for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals are still not available at the necessary speed and scale.

Instead of deepening disparities, the New Development Bank bases its governance on equality of voice and vote.

Instead of offering programs that impose conditionalities, the NDB finances projects aligned with national priorities.

The strengthening of the use of local currencies has become its defining feature.

Currently, 31% of the NDB’s projects are conducted in the currencies of member countries.

The implementation of the new BRICS multilateral guarantees mechanism, a result of the Brazilian presidency, will have a positive impact on risk mitigation capacity and the mobilization of private capital.

This is an essential reinforcement of the Bank’s financial institutional framework and expands its scope of action.

Today, the NDB increasingly contributes to promoting a just and sovereign transition.

Since its creation, more than 120 investment projects, totaling USD 40 billion, have been approved in the areas of clean energy and energy efficiency, transportation, environmental protection, water supply, and sanitation.

In Brazil, the New Development Bank’s funds have already financed more than 20 projects across various sectors and regions of the country, totaling over USD 3.5 billion.

Its swift response to the catastrophe caused by the floods in Rio Grande do Sul confirms its agility in crisis situations.

The NDB’s commitment to allocating 40% of its financing to sustainable development projects aligns with the Climate Finance Declaration that we will adopt at the BRICS Summit.

This initiative acts as a catalyst to mobilize resources in the crucial final phase leading up to COP 30, to be held in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon.

Given the ongoing accelerated digital transition, the NDB has been allocating investments for the integration of new technologies in sectors such as health, education, transportation, and infrastructure.

Brazil expects the Bank to finance a feasibility study for a submarine cable connecting the BRICS countries, which will contribute to our sovereignty and increase the speed of data exchange.

The NDB was an early partner of the Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, launched by the G20 last year, and the BRICS Tuberculosis Research Network.

In an increasingly unstable global scenario, marked by the resurgence of protectionism and unilateralism, and impacted by the climate crisis, the role of the NDB in reducing our vulnerabilities will grow.

Our Bank is more than just a major bank for emerging countries; it is proof that a reformed financial architecture is feasible and that a new, fairer development model is possible.

I would like to say, my friends, that there is a task that you may all be aware of that is important to fulfill, which is to create new funding mechanisms, especially for new situations, particularly regarding the issue of climate transition.

Everyone knows that since 2009, at COP15 in Copenhagen, it was decided that rich countries would compensate for aid to poor countries by providing USD 100 billion per year to address the climate crisis.

We are already in 2025, and that money has yet to be delivered. What was once USD 100 billion per year has now reached USD 1.6 trillion—an amount needed this year alone if we are to honor our climate commitments and prevent the planet from warming beyond 1.5ºC.

This is a challenge for all of us, and there is no way to avoid it—because, so far, there is no other habitable planet.

Some are trying, some are spending money, some are making investments to see if there is another planet. So far, there is not.

So we are obliged to start thinking about a development model that, first, is one capable of ensuring a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Second, it is necessary to care for the countries that still have standing forests. We cannot expect the Congo, Indonesia, or other South American countries that have the Amazon to protect their forests without remembering that beneath each tree canopy there is a fisherman, a rubber tapper, a forest extractor, an Indigenous person—people who need financial support so that they can remain as guardians protecting the forest.

Another challenging issue, my fellow Dilma, and here the NDB has a key role to play, is the creation of new forms of financing. We need to re-educate the Bretton Woods institutions that it is no longer acceptable to address financing in the same way in the 21st century, given the changes that have taken place in geopolitics and in the climate.

In other words, it is unacceptable that the African continent owes USD 900 billion and that interest payments are often higher than any amount they have available for investment. Either we will discuss a new form of financing to support developing countries and the poorest nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, or these countries will remain poor for another century—or even longer.

It is unacceptable that a country like Haiti continues to be a semi-destroyed nation, where you cannot even elect a President of the Republic because gangs have taken over the country.

I recently discovered, Dilma, when I spoke with President Macron [Emmanuel Macron, President of France], that Haiti paid a price for its independence. And if we consider what Haiti paid for its independence in today’s money, I told Macron that USD 28 billion should be returned to Haiti. Because it is unacceptable that in a world with trillions and trillions of dollars, where three or four people earn more than the GDP of many developed countries, the financing problem cannot be solved.

It is not a donation of money. It is a loan so that people can have a chance to get out of poverty they are in and make a leap in quality.

It is unacceptable to live in a world where, last year, USD 2.7 trillion was spent on weapons while 733 million people still go hungry.

I know this topic is not supposed to be discussed here, but if I do not discuss it with the people who have the money in the world, who will I discuss it with? Am I going to discuss it with those who do not have money? So, the message has been sent.

I believe you can—and must—show the world that it is possible to create a new financing model. Without conditionalities. The austerity model does not work in any country in the world. The so-called austerity, demanded by financial institutions, has led countries to become poorer.

Because every time austerity is mentioned, the poor become poorer and the rich become richer.

That is what happens in today’s world. And that is what we must change.

Unfortunately, I want to end by telling you this.

I have the pleasure of possibly being the oldest person in this plenary. I will turn 80 years old on October 27. And I have the pleasure of having served as President at another time in Brazil’s history.

And I want to tell you: our problem is not economic. Our problem is political. Because, for a long time, I have not seen the world so lacking in political leadership as it is today. For a long time, I have not seen our UN as insignificant as it is now. A UN that was able to create the State of Israel is not able to create the Palestinian State.

That is unable to reach a peace agreement, allowing the genocide by the Israeli Army to continue killing women and children in Gaza.

In other words, it is these political leaders who must make decisions about economic issues. And why is your discussion about a new trade currency so extremely important? Is it complicated? I know. Are there political problems? I know. But if we do not find a new formula, we will end the 21st century just as we began the 20th century.

And this will not be beneficial for humanity.

So, my fellow Dilma Rousseff, the responsibility rests on your shoulders, as President of the NDB, to try to contribute alongside other banks—the African Bank, the Asian Bank—to create a new way to show the world that another world is possible. That another reality of life is possible. That another financing policy is possible.

Otherwise, we will cause democracy to be destroyed, discredited. Multilateralism is reaching its worst moment since it was established after World War II.

And what we realize is that outside multilateralism and democracy, there is no way forward.

Therefore, good luck to all of you. May God enlighten the mind of each one of you.

I know that no money will come from here, but may important decisions be made so that we can have a new way of sustainable financing.

Best regards, and have a successful meeting.