BRICS Summit Makes Little Progress On New Bank

A man walks past a floral display announcing the 5th BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa.

Leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies have made little progress on establishing a new development bank to counterbalance Western-dominated institutions such as the World Bank.

At the end of a two-day summit in Durban, South Africa, President Jacob Zuma, who hosted the event, said the five BRICS members agreed on creating the bank in principle but said further talks were needed to finalize the details.

The announcement indicates little progress beyond an agreement reached at a summit last year.

The group -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -- had hoped to formally launch the $50 billion infrastructure fund at the summit.

But diplomats said the leaders could not agree on how much cash would be injected, how projects would be distributed, and where the bank would be based.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa