Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who chairs the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), urged Uruguay to join the institution during talks with President-elect Yamandú Orsi on December 27, highlighting the bank's favourable lending terms.

"Uruguay is perfectly positioned to be given credit", Rousseff said during a meeting at Orsi's transition headquarters, emphasising that unlike the US-backed International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Chinese-backed NDB would never set any "macroeconomic conditions," Merco Press reported.

Uruguay's membership process "is almost concluded" and "has already been approved by the board of governors", though approval from various institutional bodies, including Congress, remains pending, Rousseff said.

The NDB chairman emphasised the bank's strategic expansion beyond its BRICS founding members.

"For us, it is important that Uruguay participates in the bank", she said, adding that expansion targets include "not only countries in Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, but more countries in Latin America".

Orsi, who takes office on March 1, allegedly expressed interest but clarified Uruguay would not seek BRICS bloc membership in line with its southern neighbour Argentina which pulled away from the group with the election of Javier Milei. 

The president-elect said the NDB offers "support to the countries of the South, fundamentally in the face of a world that does not wait for you".

He stressed that Uruguay was not looking at specific loans but rather "a line of work" to explore, noting his administration would also pursue talks with traditional lenders like the Inter-American Development Bank.

"Today's world is complex and opportunities for resources, financing, and support should not be overlooked", Orsi said.

Incoming Presidential Secretary Alejandro Sánchez, who serves as Orsi's international affairs adviser, attended the meeting along with other future cabinet members.