A new development bank established by Russia, China, India, and Brazil is providing three of those countries with $1.4 billion in loans ahead of a meeting of the major developing countries next week.
The loans were announced by the New Development Bank, which was set up in 2014 to be an alternative to the Washington-based World Bank. Of the total, $460 million will go toward updating the computer system of the Russian judicial system, $470 million toward developing rural water supplies in India, and the rest toward energy conservation and flood control in China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and other leaders of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) plan to attend the summit in Xiamen, China, on September 4-5.
Putin has said he will raise the subject of tensions on the Korean Peninsula at the meeting. In an article published on the Kremlin website on September 1, Putin said the standoff over North Korea's nuclear and missile program is "on the verge of a large-scale conflict."
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in Moscow that Putin will push for a peaceful solution by following a road map laid out by Moscow and Beijing.
On the sidelines of the summit, Putin is scheduled to meet with the leaders of China, India, Egypt, South Africa, Thailand, and Mexico, the Kremlin said.