SHANGHAI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) is planning to launch its Americas Regional Office in Brazil this year, the NDB said in a press release Tuesday.

K.V. Kamath, the NDB president, made the remarks while meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira in Shanghai Monday, according to the press release.

The Americas Regional Office will increase the operational capabilities of the NDB, headquartered in Shanghai, and facilitate identification and preparation of bankable projects in Brazil, the press release said.

Together with the Africa Regional Center opened last year in Johannesburg, South Africa, the new regional office will progressively support a growing range of the bank's operations, it said.

The NDB was founded by the BRICS member countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- during the group's sixth summit in Fortaleza, Brazil in July 2014 and formally opened in Shanghai in July 2015.

It was created with the objective of financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS countries and other emerging economies and developing countries.