MOSCOW, February 25 (RAPSI) – The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, on Wednesday ratified an agreement regarding a bank for the development of the BRICS countries, RIA Novosti reports.

The agreement on the BRICS bank was signed in June 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil. The bank is expected to become a major international development institution with $100 billion in assets. It was set up to finance infrastructure projects both in BRICS countries and in developing countries.

The 2015 federal budget already allocates funding for the bank. It is assumed that Russia will contribute $2 billion over the next seven years.

In summer 2015, BRICS summit will be held in Ufa. The establishment of the BRICS development bank is expected to be the main issue there.

The Russian Finance Ministry expects that the BRICS development bank will be launched by the end of 2015.