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- BRICS files: contracts from international organizations will appear in public procurement
BRICS files: contracts from international organizations will appear in public procurement
Contracts from international financial organizations, primarily from the New BRICS Development Bank (NDB), will appear on the Russian government procurement website - such changes are being prepared by the Ministry of Energy, Izvestiya has learned. In the future, there may be proposals from the Eurasian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The NDB, for example, is planning to unfreeze investments in Russia - the money is going to be used for infrastructure projects, including water supply. Access to electronic public procurement is necessary to make the procedure transparent and increase competition for such contracts.
What international contracts will appear in public procurement?
The Ministry of Economic Development is developing changes that will allow publishing in the Unified Information System in the field of procurement (UIS) data on tenders conducted by international financial organizations, the ministry told Izvestia. This will allow to better inform Russian companies about such orders, ensure transparency and strengthen competition in public procurement of foreigners.
First of all, we are talking about the projects of the New Development Bank (former BRICS Bank), the Ministry of Economic Development said. It has been operating since 2014 and its headquarters is located in Shanghai. The purpose of the organization is to finance infrastructure projects in the states of the alliance. In March 2022, the NDB announced the suspension of transactions in Russia due to the sanctions imposed on the country. However, in October 2024, during the BRICS summit, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that a mechanism for resuming financing had been prepared.
As Izvestia previously wrote, the NDB will allocate $1.2 billion in loans for Russian projects until 2027. During the entire period of such agreements (starting from 2017), $336 million has already been raised. The NDB implements four projects in Russia: "Assistance to the development of the judicial system of the Russian Federation", "Development of water supply and water disposal systems", as well as two programs for the development of small historical settlements (it is not specified which ones).
In the future, contracts of other organizations - for example, the Eurasian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank - may appear in government procurement, the Ministry of Economic Development added.
The Eurasian Development Bank invests in the economies, trade and economic relations and integration processes in the countries of the region. Its headquarters is located in Kazakhstan. The purpose of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (headquartered in Beijing) is to stimulate financial cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Projects related to the development and construction of infrastructure, energy and water supply facilities may appear in government procurement, according to Freedom Finance Global analyst Vladimir Chernov. He also admitted the publication of tenders related to the digitalization of various sectors of the economy, high-tech equipment, the introduction of artificial intelligence, the transition to green energy or the construction of thermal power plants and nuclear power plants.
In addition, purchases may be related to the creation of new banking products and elements of financial infrastructure, said Andrei Girinsky, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics of PFUR. The BRICS countries are already actively working on the creation of financial services independent of the dollar. Ultimately, this will have a positive impact on the development of the Russian economy, said Yaroslav Kabakov, Strategy Director of Finam Investment Company.
Why Russia is involving international organizations in government procurement
In recent years, interaction with financial institutions of Western countries has been minimized, but the need for effective external investments is not going anywhere. That is why cooperation with organizations such as the BRICS New Development Bank is becoming more important, said Andrei Shelepov, a senior researcher at the Center for International Institutions Studies (CIMI) of the Presidential Academy.
The publication of tenders from international organizations in public procurement will allow Russian companies to have more information about the deals being conducted, which will develop cooperation between countries, said Maria Ermilova, associate professor of the Department of Sustainable Development Finance at the Plekhanov Russian Economic University.
- This is especially relevant against the background of Russia's expanding cooperation with other states, not only BRICS, but also the countries of Southeast Asia (ASEAN). Potentially, the placement of contracts from international financial organizations can strengthen trade relations of both individual companies and entire countries, - said the expert.
Also, the appearance of such contracts in public procurement will entail a more efficient use of funds allocated by international financial organizations, believes Yaroslav Kabakov of Finam Investment Company. The publication of these tenders will not only strengthen competition, but may even lead to a reduction in the cost of procurement, he admitted.
The measure is most likely developed taking into account the fact that the authorities expect an increase in the number of procurement procedures by international financial organizations, as cooperation with the BRICS countries is deepening and strengthening, agrees Vladimir Chernov of Freedom Finance Global. This is an important step even from a political point of view: it reflects how tightly foreigners fit into the Russian economy.
