Sri Lanka’s bid to join the BRICS bloc has been temporarily put on hold following a decision made at the recently concluded BRICS summit in Russia, where member countries opted not to expand the group at this time. Despite this setback, Sri Lanka’s application to join the New Development Bank (NDB), which is promoted by BRICS, has been accepted.
The NDB, established in 2015 by BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—is a multilateral development bank focused on mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs).
Sri Lanka had expressed interest in becoming a member of BRICS, with a delegation led by Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardena participating in the BRICS summit held in Russia last month. However, despite the country’s efforts and support from foreign ministers of several countries, the BRICS member states decided not to admit new members at this time.
“There are nine countries currently holding membership in BRICS,” said Cabinet spokesperson, Minister Bandula Gunawardena, during a media briefing in Colombo on Wednesday (November 6). “Sri Lanka applied for membership at the BRICS summit, but the nine member nations decided not to entertain any new members this time.”
He explained that Sri Lanka’s application was submitted shortly before the summit, and the country had engaged in discussions with various foreign ministers who expressed their support. However, with the summit’s decision to freeze new memberships, Sri Lanka’s bid for BRICS membership was not successful.
On a positive note, Sri Lanka’s application for membership in the New Development Bank has been accepted, providing the country with an opportunity to join the multilateral financial institution. “We applied for NDB membership, and we have received approval. The decision to proceed will be made by the Sri Lankan government, with the final decision to be taken at the Cabinet level,” Minister Gunawardena said.
The matter has been forwarded to the Finance Ministry for further assessment. “The Finance Ministry will evaluate the proposal, and based on that, we will move forward with the decision,” he added.
Notably, countries like Bangladesh, which are not members of BRICS, are still part of the NDB, demonstrating that membership in the bank is separate from the broader BRICS alliance. Sri Lanka aims to follow a similar path and is working towards securing full membership in the NDB through discussions with the Finance Ministry.
