Algeria has been approved for membership in the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), according to an announcement by the country's Finance Ministry.

The decision was made on Saturday and revealed by NDB President Dilma Rousseff during a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa.

By joining "this important development institution, the financial arm of the BRICS group, Algeria is taking a major step in its process of integration into the global financial system," the Algerian Finance Ministry indicated in a statement.

The BRICS bank, established by the founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, was created to provide an alternative to traditional international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF.

Algeria's membership was achieved due to "the strength of the country's macroeconomic indicators," which have demonstrated "remarkable performances in recent years," enabling the North African nation to be classified as an "upper-tier emerging economy," the Finance Ministry pointed out.

It added that membership in the BRICS bank is expected to offer Algeria—Africa's leading natural gas exporter—"new prospects to support and strengthen its economic growth in the medium and long term."

Established in 2015, the NDB's primary mission is to mobilize resources for projects in emerging markets and developing countries.

BRICS has recently welcomed several new member countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

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