Interview: Uruguay seeks opportunities in emerging world by joining BRICS bank, expert says

MONTEVIDEO, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay seeks to take advantage of the opportunities in emerging economies with its entry into the New Development Bank (NDB), Director of the Institute of International Business of the Catholic University of Uruguay Ignacio Bartesaghi has said.

"It (Uruguay) is the only country in the region, with the obvious exception of Brazil, that has taken advantage of this opening to join (NDB)," Bartesaghi, also a doctor in international relations, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The NDB, founded by the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), added Uruguay as a new member on Sept. 2, along with the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh.

"It is Uruguay's response to wanting to be part of the opportunities that are opening up in this new emerging world, characterized by BRICS," Bartesaghi said.

The expert said China's participation is key to the initiative with concrete possibilities that the NDB can give in terms of financing. "New lines of financing are opening up with powers able to lend and more favorable conditions" beyond projects, he added.

"In the past 10 years, Uruguay has been a part of major projects proposed by China: the Belt and Road (Initiative), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the NDB," he said. "The world has been in Asia for 20 years, and everything that emerges, comes from Asia."

Uruguay currently "needs investment in infrastructure" and being a member of the bank is a very positive sign as China is a great investor in infrastructure, Bartesaghi said.

Appreciating China's stability and capacity, he said, "when China commits to a goal, it fulfills it."