What is the BRICS Summit?
Written by Saachi Singh, a grade 8 student.
BRICS is an acronym for a group of countries formed by the alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. These are the emerging national economies of the globe, and are recognized for their regional influence.
Written by Saachi Singh, a grade 8 student
The 12th BRICS Summit will be held on November 17th.
What’s BRICS?
BRICS is an acronym for a group of countries formed by the alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. These are the emerging national economies of the globe, and are recognized for their regional influence. This is clearly signified by the fact that they together account for about 42% of the population, 23% of GDP, 30% of the territory, and 18% of the trade in the entire world.
BRICS was founded with the intent of contributing to promoting global economic recovery, reduce potential risks in the international financial markets, and increase economic growth among its members. The cooperation is aimed at complementing and strengthening existing bilateral and multilateral relations between the Member States.
How was it formed?
In 2006, the respective head of states of 4 countries- Brazil, Russia, India, China, met in New York at the margins of the General Debate of the UN Assembly, beginning a series of high-level meetings. Later, on 16 June 2009, a full-fledged diplomatic meeting was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The association of states was named BRIC.
South Africa joined the ranks on 24 December 2010, after being formally invited to join by China and along with it the other BRIC nations. It previously been requesting entry since early 2010, having begun the formal admissions in August itself. The group was renamed BRICS – with the “S” standing for South Africa – to reflect their expanded membership.
What happens during a BRICS Summit?
This independent international organization encourages cooperation between the BRICS nations. They discuss, debate and make decisions on cardinal commercial, political, and cultural subjects.
Some BRICS schemes
In June 2012, the BRICS nations pledged $75 billion to boost the lending power of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The foundations of a great global financial institution were reportedly discussed during the 5th Summit in Durban, South Africa in March 2013.
On 15 July, the first day of the BRICS 6th summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, the group of emerging economies signed the long-anticipated document to create the astounding US $100 billion New Development Bank (formerly known as the “BRICS Development Bank”) and a reserve currency pool worth over another US$100 billion. Documents on cooperation between BRICS export credit agencies and an agreement of cooperation on innovation were also inked.
The BRICS Cable, a visionary project introduced in 2012, aims to develop and adopt an optical fiber submarine communications cable system to carry secretive telecommunications between the BRICS countries.
The 12th BRICS Summit
This joint summit with SCO, initially to have been held in St. Petersburg, Russia on 21st-23rd July, 2020, has now been postponed and the venue changed. Restrictions due to the COVID-19 Pandemic vary in each country and bar the respective stats from meeting at a definite physical location this time around.
Official sources have announced that the session will now be held via video conferencing on the 17th of November, a joint decision by the five BRICS nations. Russia is still set to host the event.
What can we expect from this summit?
According to an official statement issued by Russia’s Presidency in the Shanghai Corporation Organization (SCO), “The theme of the meeting of the leaders of BRICS countries is ‘BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth.’”
The statement proceeded to add that “The purpose of the Russian BRICS Chairmanship in 2020, as it for multifaceted corporations between the BRICS countries is to contribute to raising living standards and the quality of life of our people”.
Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, notably said, “Despite the current global situation due to the spread of the Coronavirus infection, the activities under the Russian BRICS Chairmanship in 2020 are carried out in a consistent manner. Since January 2020 more than 60 events have been organised, including via video conferencing.”, in reference to the session that will be held later this year.
This summit will play a paramount role in securing ties of the BRICS nations. We can expect interesting developments regarding several schemes that are still in the planning phase, along with discussions on countering the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the countries as a whole to play out.
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