BRICS Summit 2019– 11th BRICS Summit in Brasilia
BRICS Summit 2019– 11th BRICS Summit in Brasilia
This article talks about 11th BRICS summit 2019 organized in Brazil in November 2019. It also talks about origin of BRICS summit; it also highlights proposals forwarded by India in 11th BRICS summit and also mentions other related facts and outcomes of BRICS summit 2019. It also discusses the challenges faced by BRICS countries and what steps needed to be taken in achieving their common goals. Simultaneous bilateral talks of India with Russia, Brazil and China are also discussed in this article.
Introduction
Importance of BRICS Countries
New Development Bank / BRICS Bank
BRICS Summit 2019
Proposals of India
Brasilia Declaration
Bilateral Talks of India
Challenge for India
Conclusion
Introduction
BRICS is a group of five countries which are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Originally, four countries joined as BRIC and South Africa joined later. In 2001, the term “BRIC” was used by chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management Company. BRICS was found in 2006 in which these five countries joined their hands together with the objective of political, economic and regional integration. However, first BRICS summit was conducted in 2009 in Russia. Since then, it is conducted annually in BRICS countries alternatively.
Importance of BRICS Countries
BRICS is a forum of five big economies which are central economic points of their geographical territories. The member countries of BRICS constitute 43% of global population, 17% of global trade and 30% of global GDP. Total trade of BRICS countries among themselves is approximately USD 115 billion which is equivalent to 15% of global trade. The collective efforts of BRICS countries are significant for the sake of strengthening their voice on global platform.
New Development Bank / BRICS Bank
The members of BRICS have taken an initiative of developing a BRICS bank in order to counter the influence of other financial institutions like IMF, World Bank which are dominated by Western countries. BRICS bank is also known as New Development Bank. It has an initial subscription of around USD 50 billion. The headquarters of New Development Bank is located in Shanghai, China. However, there are some issues related to disbursement policy of this bank, yet projects worth USD 8 billion have already been initiated.
BRICS Summit 2019
BRICS Summit 2019 was organized on 13-14 November 2019 at Brasilia, capital of Brazil. Its theme was “Economic growth for an innovative future”. The summit was headed by Brazilian president Mr. Jair Bolsonaro. The summit was concluded by Brasilia declaration. Indian Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi also engaged in bilateral talks with Presidents of Russia, Brazil and China. This summit is important as it is being organized at the time when all the BRICS countries especially India and China are facing low growth in their economies and withdrawal of India from RCEP.
Proposals of India
During interaction with BRICS Business Council, Indian Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi put forward following suggestions:
- Charting road map for intra BRICS trade to the tune of USD 500 billion
- Harnessing agro tech start up network for betterment of people
- Conducting hackathon in India on apps for finding innovative solutions in healthcare, sports, creativity etc.
Other proposals put forwarded by India are:
- Holding first meeting of BRICS water ministers in India
- Acting collectively for countering terrorism, holding first seminar on BRICS strategy for counter terrorism and conducting workshop on “Digital Forensic Analysis” in same context
- Disbursing internships and fellowships annually to students for studying issues of BRICS countries
Apart from presenting proposals, Indian PM also talked about recently launched “Fit India Movement”, increased women participation in voting and rate of their winning in elections. The number of women in local governance has reached to 1.4 million. He also mentioned various steps taken by India in last five years for maternity leave, wage gap reduction, woman entrepreneurship and woman empowerment.
PM Modi also mentioned the challenges of urban sustainable water management and sanitation. He urged for developing collective strategy for reforms in international organizations like UN, WTO etc. Mr Modi talked about threat of terrorism to global community which led to loss of 22500 lives in last ten years, loss of USD 1 trillion and reduction of 1.5% growth rate of developing countries. Indian Prime Minister also indicated impact on investments, trade and economic growth through suspicious ecosystem created by drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism financing.
Mr. Modi also mentioned efforts needed for promotion of traditional sports and people to people contact. He also declared organization of “BRICS Films Technology Symposium” in March 2020.
During interaction with BRICS Business Council, Indian Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi put forward following suggestions:
Other proposals put forwarded by India are:
Apart from presenting proposals, Indian PM also talked about recently launched “Fit India Movement”, increased women participation in voting and rate of their winning in elections. The number of women in local governance has reached to 1.4 million. He also mentioned various steps taken by India in last five years for maternity leave, wage gap reduction, woman entrepreneurship and woman empowerment.
PM Modi also mentioned the challenges of urban sustainable water management and sanitation. He urged for developing collective strategy for reforms in international organizations like UN, WTO etc. Mr Modi talked about threat of terrorism to global community which led to loss of 22500 lives in last ten years, loss of USD 1 trillion and reduction of 1.5% growth rate of developing countries. Indian Prime Minister also indicated impact on investments, trade and economic growth through suspicious ecosystem created by drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism financing.
Mr. Modi also mentioned efforts needed for promotion of traditional sports and people to people contact. He also declared organization of “BRICS Films Technology Symposium” in March 2020.
Brasilia Declaration
The Brasilia declaration as an outcome of BRICS Summit 2019 has come up with following points:
- The declaration supports to multilateralism and indirectly talks about negative impact of trade war between China and USA on global trade.
- BRICS countries also advocated reforms in WTO, IMF and enhanced voting powers and quota of India and China in these organizations.
- It also advocates engagement of developed countries in mitigation and adaptation action for preventing climate change by providing support in terms of finance, technology and capacity building. It reiterates commitment of BRICS countries to Paris agreement adopted under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Brasilia declaration as an outcome of BRICS Summit 2019 has come up with following points:
Bilateral Talks of India
Prior to participation in 11th BRICS summit or BRICS Summit 2019, Sh. Narendra Modi engaged bilaterally with the Presidents of Russia, Brazil and China.
Prior to participation in 11th BRICS summit or BRICS Summit 2019, Sh. Narendra Modi engaged bilaterally with the Presidents of Russia, Brazil and China.
India and Russia
The highlights of bilateral talks between India and Russia are as following:
- The president of Russia, Mr. Vladimir Putin invited Mr. Modi for “Victory Day” ceremony in May 2020. Both leaders met last time at Vladivostok for the meeting of East Economic Forum.
- They reviewed progress of bilateral relations after Vladivostok meeting.
- They also reviewed progress on oil and natural gas imports and stability.
- Mr. Putin also mentioned potential of natural gas in arctic region and also invited investment by India.
- They discussed progress in infrastructure especially in railways and also reviewed progress of Nagpur-Sikandarabad railway line.
- Both leaders expressed satisfaction in defense and nuclear energy. Both leaders also expressed possibility of investment by third country in nuclear power.
The highlights of bilateral talks between India and Russia are as following:
India and Brazil
The highlights of bilateral talks between India and Brazil are as following:
- Mr. Modi invited Brazilian president Mr. Jair Bolsonaro as Chief Guest for Republic Day next year.
- PM Modi appreciated and thanked Brazilian president for his decision about visa free entry of Indian travellers in Brazil.
- Both leaders discussed on trade matters and discussed possible investments in agriculture, animal husbandry, bio fuel, harvesting techniques etc.
The highlights of bilateral talks between India and Brazil are as following:
India and China
The meeting of leaders of India and China is an important one after withdrawal of India from RCEP agreement. The highlights of bilateral talks between India and China are as following:
- Chinese president Mr Xi Jinping appreciated hosting of Mr Modi in their last meeting at Mamallapuram near Chennai during second informal summit.
- Both leaders had discussions related to border disputes, WTO, RCEP, trade and BRICS.
- Mr Jinping also invited PM Modi for third informal summit in China.
The meeting of leaders of India and China is an important one after withdrawal of India from RCEP agreement. The highlights of bilateral talks between India and China are as following:
Challenge for India
India is facing trade imbalance with other BRICS countries especially with China. China is much ahead in energy, mining, infrastructure, pipelines, ports, high speed trains etc. Since imposition of sanctions on Russia in 2014, it is also getting closer with China. Out of bilateral trade of USD 108 billion between India and China, India is facing trade deficit worth USD 53 billion. The ambitious goal of increasing intra BRICS trade five times can increase trade deficit of India. The result may impact India negatively. India needs to improve its infrastructure and competitiveness to leverage the real benefits of trade with BRICS countries.
India is facing trade imbalance with other BRICS countries especially with China. China is much ahead in energy, mining, infrastructure, pipelines, ports, high speed trains etc. Since imposition of sanctions on Russia in 2014, it is also getting closer with China. Out of bilateral trade of USD 108 billion between India and China, India is facing trade deficit worth USD 53 billion. The ambitious goal of increasing intra BRICS trade five times can increase trade deficit of India. The result may impact India negatively. India needs to improve its infrastructure and competitiveness to leverage the real benefits of trade with BRICS countries.
Conclusion
The multilateral forum like BRICS is a platform to engage with powers of mutual interests. India can better negotiate with China on BRICS platform rather than bilaterally. BRICS Summit 2019 is one such opportunity to utilize this multilateral forum to achieve negotiations especially with China. Though BRICS countries have differences but despite that they have common aspirations for which they need to develop a strong strategy. They need to develop trust and build confidence among themselves so as to be audible to global community. New Development Bank (BRICS Bank) has to achieve the desired potential.
The multilateral forum like BRICS is a platform to engage with powers of mutual interests. India can better negotiate with China on BRICS platform rather than bilaterally. BRICS Summit 2019 is one such opportunity to utilize this multilateral forum to achieve negotiations especially with China. Though BRICS countries have differences but despite that they have common aspirations for which they need to develop a strong strategy. They need to develop trust and build confidence among themselves so as to be audible to global community. New Development Bank (BRICS Bank) has to achieve the desired potential.
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