President Mirziyoyev Ratifies NDB Accession — Uzbekistan Officially Joins New Development Bank

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan formally signed and ratified the country's accession agreement to the New Development Bank on May 22, 2026, making Uzbekistan an official NDB member state. The ratification completed a months-long domestic legal process: the lower house (Legislative Chamber) approved the agreement on April 21, and the Senate endorsed it on May 19. Uzbekistan had been formally admitted as a borrowing member by the NDB Board of Governors at the 10th Annual Meeting in Rio de Janeiro in July 2025, alongside Colombia. The NDB confirmed Uzbekistan's formal accession, with NDB President Dilma Rousseff welcoming the new member and announcing an expanded operational focus for Central Asia. The NDB now counts active member states well beyond the five original BRICS founders — including Bangladesh, Egypt, UAE, Uruguay, Colombia, and Uzbekistan — demonstrating the bank's evolution into a genuinely global institution. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who chairs the NDB Board of Governors, stated: 'We are confident that the accession of new countries will make a qualitative contribution to the bank's work.' The accession is particularly significant as Uzbekistan was admitted as a BRICS Partner Country (non-member status) at the Kazan 2024 summit — making it the first Central Asian BRICS partner to convert that status into a tangible NDB membership. A $5 billion portfolio of priority projects for Uzbekistan has been identified, covering irrigation modernization, mining sector development, and infrastructure PPPs.