Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to Fortaleza, Brazil on July 15 for the two-day BRICS summit. The meetings will be held at two venues – one in Fortaleza and then in Brasilia. The sixth summit marks the start of the second cycle of BRICS meetings because each of the BRICS members has chaired it once, and Brazil, the host country will again hold the chair this year till the summit in Russia next year.
The BRICS summit will be the first occasion for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Jacob Zuma and Dilma Rouseff. Modi is expected to hold separate bilateral talks with each leader while he is in Brazil.
Economics will have priority at the summit in Brazil, although the grouping has started to devise common policies on international issues. The BRICS countries backed Russia, when there were hints from Australia that Vladimir Putin may not be allowed to participate in the G20 summit.
In Brazil, the grouping is likely to continue efforts to reform the international financial system where a considerable overbalance exists in favour of the West. At the Durban Summit in March 2013, the five countries’ leaders had announced that a new Development Bank will focus on infrastructure investment in developing countries, which was constrained by insufficient long-term financing and foreign direct investment.