BRIC summit to focus on economic, financial issues

Economic and financial issues will be high on the agenda of the Second Summit of the BRIC group, which starts here on April 16.

Discussions are expected to be held on the need for changes in global institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and on updating the regulation of financial markets to avoid another global crisis.

Its host, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and leaders of the other countries in the group, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the meeting.

Ambassador Roberto Jaguaribe, coordinator of the summit, reiterated the group’s origins in financial market assessment and their importance in the global economy in the coming years at a press conference at Itamaraty Palace, the headquarters of Brazil’s Foreign Ministry.

“According to the IMF, the BRIC countries were responsible for 46.3 percent of global growth in 2008 and in 2009 this percentage must have been even greater,” he said.

He said the wealth brought to the world was increasingly from developing countries.

“Between 2008 and 2014, the BRICs are expected to be responsible for 61.3 percent of global growth,” he said.

The ambassador said the group had become an instrument of economic analysis and international trade, which had led to greater integration between the member countries and achieved media and academic recognition.

Jaguaribe said the BRICs were an “advocate of big changes in the international context”, while working for an expansion of relations between member countries.

“The BRIC does not intend to be regulatory, but a group of convergence, to bring our positions more effectively to legitimate multilateral forums,” he said.

At the upcoming summit, the problems leading to the financial crisis, the reform of international lending agencies and the measures necessary to ensure the global economic recovery will be discussed.

Jaguaribe said a possible new international reference currency, an issue that generated much expectation at the last summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, last year, concerned all countries, but all countries were interested in a balance of the financial matter.

He said the summit would avoid “moves that will create waves, excessive speculation, and questions about the dollar, or the creation of a basket of currencies”, but a technical meeting on the matter will take place in Brasilia.

“The presidents of central banks (of the BRICs) discuss the issue at regular meetings, but with much caution,” he said.

Jaguaribe said the need to change the pattern of international governance promoted by the BRICs had already produced significant results.

“In the financial area, changing the G7 to the G20 is a highly significant progress,” he said. “Although there is not a corresponding change in the political strategic level.”

In addition to the economic issues, the presidents may talk about issues concerning international political topics, such as combating climate change and the Iranian nuclear program issue.

The first BRIC business seminar and a meeting of development banks in Rio de Janeiro, a seminar on “think tanks” in Brasilia, and a meeting of commercial banks in Sao Paulo and Brasilia will also be held during the summit.

Parallel to the BRIC meeting, Chinese President Hu will pay an official visit, while Indian Prime Minister Singh and Russian President Medvedev will have separate meetings with Lula da Silva.

The BRIC Summit will be held a day after the IBAS forum meeting, which will gather India, Brazil and South Africa, also in Brasilia.