MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ministers meet to advance creation of South American development bank

Economy and Finance ministers from seven South American countries are scheduled to meet Friday in Buenos Aires to advance in the creation of the Bank of the South, a financial institution to fund infrastructure and development projects in the region.

“At the meeting participants will advance in the founding multilateral agreements for the establishment of the Bank of the South“, said the Argentine Central Bank in a short release.

Participanting ministers are from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Bank of the South, a brain child of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, was born in December 2007 and is planned to have an initial capital of 10 billion US dollars which could be increased in the future as new members join, according to what was agreed by Finance ministers during the meeting held last March in Caracas, Venezuela.

The original idea of the South American multilateral financial institution, with the purpose of countering the International Monetary Fund and other similar financial institutions under control of the developed countries, is planned to have its headquarters in Caracas and subsidiary offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and La Paz, Bolivia.