The fifth BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit will be held in New Delhi, India from March 28-29. The theme of the summit is ‘Partnership for Stability, Security and Growth’. During the summit, all five countries are expected to discuss a gamut of issues such as food and energy security, nuclear security and establishment of a common development bank.
“There are still uncertainties to global economic recovery. The representation of emerging countries and their voice in the international institutions is increasing. The summit will discuss measures to boost cooperation and steps to respond to common challenges,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
While it was Jim O’ Neil of Goldman Sachs that first coined the term ‘BRIC’ (Brazil-Russia-India-China) in the year 2001, it was formalized only in the year 2006, with the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. In the last few years, the grouping has held several summits and meetings, with increased cooperation between the BRICS countries on global issues such as international terrorism, climate change, food and energy security, developmental issues and the international financial crisis. In the year 2011, during the third summit held in China, South Africa joined the group making it BRICS.
The BRICS countries account for nearly 30 percent of the world’s total land area, are home to 42 percent of the world’s total residents, have a combined GDP of 20 percent and 15 percent trade volume of the world. Moreover, Brazil, Russia, India and China’s share of foreign exchange reserves is also very significant; all four are amongst the ten largest accumulators of reserves, accounting for 40% of the world total. Trade amongst these countries has also grown exponentially in the last few years; from 2001 – 2010, trade increased at 28% annually, reaching $230 billion.
At the third BRICS summit held in Sanya in 2011, all five countries developed a plan of action to strengthen cooperation in areas of security, finance, business , agriculture, health, culture, sports, science and technology and green economy.
Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations released its own publication on the BRICS in it’s report titled “India and the BRICS”. Click here for the report.