A number of deals were endorsed at the BRICS summit this week including the launching of the development bank and the business council.

The occasion was peddled as a winner as the heads of states of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa left the port city of Durban’s International Convention Centre yesterday.

President Jacob Zuma told guests at the centre that the leaders of these five nations had agreed to discuss the formation of Brics-led new development bank.

“Following the report from our finance ministers, we are satisfied that the establishment of a New Development Bank is feasible and viable,” leaders said in a joint statement. “We have agreed to establish the New Development Bank.”

According to Sapa, Russian finance minister Anton Silaunov, said agreement still had to be reached on the financial contributions each member state would make.

South Africa’s finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, could not give the exact time frame as how long it would take to launch the bank. But he said this should be within 10 years.

Pacts signed on Wednesday included a multilateral agreement on infrastructure co-financing for Africa and a multilateral agreement on green economy co-operation co-financing.

Details of the two agreements were not immediately available.

The Brics Business Council was also launched but it turned out this Brics Think Tank had apparently been already agreed on March 11 this year.

South Africa’s billionaire businessman, Patrice Motsepe, will chair the council, which would drive partnerships between all the governments and the private sector.