South Africa
Source: www.dirco.gov.za

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane arrived in Beijing, People's Republic of China, last night, 17 June 2017, where she will participate in the meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations, hosted by the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Wang Yi.

The People's Republic of China assumed the rotational chairship of the BRICS Forum for 2017 on 01 January and will hand-over the chairship to South Africa on 01 January 2018.

It is expected that the meeting will focus on issues of shared global political and economic concern and deliberate on how the BRICS Forum can be strengthened to adequately respond to these.

It is further expected that the meeting will seek to promote the deepening of economic cooperation and interaction, especially in the areas of trade and investment. The meeting will also seek ways to support the further strengthening of people-to-people cooperation in such spheres as education, culture and sports.

South Africa regards the BRICS Forum as providing a platform for the realisation of its vision of intensifying development, integration and industrialisation through partnership with other emerging markets and developing countries.

The BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations will meet again as per the established BRICS practice on the margins of UNGA 72 in New York in September 2017.

China
Source: www.china.org.cn

Representatives of political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations in the five member nations of BRICS gathered in Fuzhou for a two-day forum and released the Fuzhou Initiative on Monday appealing for enhanced cooperation among BRICS countries.

The political parties, think tanks and civil society organizations from BRICS and several developing countries met in Fuzhou to exchange views and share experiences surrounding issues of common interest, with an aim to enhance cooperation among BRICS countries and with other emerging markets and developing countries. Recommendations will be submitted to the upcoming BRICS Summit in Xiamen scheduled for September.

"The deepening of all-round practical cooperation and the realization of mutual benefits and win-win results serve as an important foundation for BRICS partnership," the initiative document stated. "BRICS countries should prioritize pragmatism and innovation in their cooperation in a manner that addresses the key social and economic challenges affecting their own countries respectively."

It pointed out that BRICS countries should also intensify policy communication, expand the scope of cooperation, tap the potential of cooperation, increase and deepen cooperation with other emerging markets and developing countries, combat corruption and build clean governance.

The participants of the BRICS Political Parties, Think-tanks and Civil Society Organizations Forum also viewed that people-to-people and cultural exchanges play an important role in cementing BRICS strategic partnership and garnering public support for BRICS cooperation.

"Enjoying rich cultural resources, BRICS countries should capitalize on their respective advantages to actively engage in and collectively promote ever deepening and substantial people-to-people and cultural exchanges, so as to effectively enhance engagement and a sense of recognition for the peoples of BRICS countries," it said.

The initiative forwarded that BRICS countries should intensify political and security cooperation, enhance coordination and make collective voices heard on major international and regional issues. "In countering terrorism, BRICS countries should enhance sharing of intelligence and experience as well as capacity building."

Addressing the closing ceremony, Song Tao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said in his speech that BRICS political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations should facilitate cooperation that will elevate BRICS members to their role as practitioners of new globalization, advocators for new global governance and forerunners of new South-South cooperation.

India
Source: www.orfonline.org

Excellencies, colleagues and friends, members of the academic community and think tankers from the BRICS countries..

Warm greetings from the Indian academic delegation. We are delighted to be here and look forward to two days of debates, discussions and the opportunity to renew old friendships and begin new ones. On behalf of our team, I thank our hosts, the China Council for BRICS Think Tank Cooperation for the wonderful setting and immaculate arrangements, and for all the work that has gone into putting this together.

We, the BRICS Think Council met this morning to take stock of all that transpired under the Indian leadership of BRICS in 2016 and to deliberate on what we would like our governments to pursue under the Chinese Presidency. We will, at the end of the two days, put forward an outcome document that will capture our wish list flowing from the conversations that will happen here. Each of you — through your presentations and interventions will co-author this document — so I encourage all to participate vigorously in the debates that lie ahead.

This is a special year. We are meeting at the 9th Academic Forum, and at the end of this year, we will be completing 10 years of our cooperation.

The BRICS next year will be turning 10 as an institution.

As we complete the first decade of this partnership, it is perfect moment to look back and look ahead. It is perhaps time to restate the BRICS agenda, relocate the role of BRICS in the world of today — that is changing fast — and reaffirm the organising principles that brought us together.

The BRICS agenda and its role must continue to be shaped by two words: "change" and "alternative".

We came together to change the lives of millions in our countries, and in countries around us, that have been left out of the economic mainstream and have been left behind. Their lives must change, their aspirations need to be catered to. We must consider their future to be ours. This ambition is now encapsulated in the SDG Goals and other development challenges that humanity has accepted as being vital. BRICS must lead this process with their energy and leadership, with their experience and resources and with compassion — a changed development paradigm must be at the core of the BRICS agenda for the next 10 years.

The second word we must always focus on is "alternative". We must achieve this change through alternate pathways, one that are inclusive, democratic, participatory and sustainable. A BRICS counter-narrative, an alternative must be crafted amongst the academic community. We are unlikely to change the world if we follow the same pathway that the developed world discovered. Be it healthcare or wellness , be it migration policies, be it the way we organise our cities and fuel them, educate our people and unleash their creative energies, we will need to discover and document BRICS solutions that will offer a counter point to the knowledge regimes that define the world of yesterday. And this must be a central quest of the BRICS academic community.

As we move towards being this force of positive change, we will need to create more institutions and frameworks to make it happen. The New Development Bank, the Contingency Reserve Arrangement are just the beginning. The BRICS institutionalisation would be a pre-requisite for its success. In 2016, the Indian Presidency recognised this to be the single most important aspect of BRICS development — it proposed research institutions, rating agencies, bodies that would strengthen trade and commerce and frameworks that would deepen intra-BRICS cooperation. This project must indeed be continued under the Chinese leadership as we move to South Africa in 2018.

I mentioned that we need to relocate BRICS in the new world. Indeed it is a new world, since we last met in New Delhi, change has swept through US and Europe and more change is coming. Some of the assumptions of the past decade around trade and globalisation may no longer be valid and nationalism and petty politics seems to be a secular phenomenon.

The BRICS leadership is needed at these times.

It seems BRICS will need to be the architects and new champions of a new format of multilateralism and indeed of globalisation 2.0.

As we infuse energy and leadership into these two processes, revitalise global trade, global financial flows, movement of people and ideas and indeed challenge the disruption to the process of global integration, it will require all of us to make a new case and a new blue print — where our individual roles and collective responsibilities will need to be reaffirmed. We will need to navigate this process through our own political systems, something that clearly is not easy for some of us.

A quick note of caution, even as we witness power vacuum and leadership gap, we must resist the temptation to fill those spaces with more of the same, The hegemonic structures and actors must not be replaced by a new hegemon. The paternalistic political structures must not be now owned by a different country or group of countries, otherwise we will not be agents of change and creators of counter-narratives. We will remain the servers of status quo and prisoners to power.

It is time to restate the organising principles of BRICS as I see them. Two factors more than any other have allowed us to come together and work together over the past 10 years.

• Respect for sovereignty of each other, and those around us, and,
• The common demand for pluralism and democracy in the conduct of international affairs.

BRICS has always respected sovereignty and sovereign equality. It is only here at BRICS that irrespective of our GDPs and military might, each of us have equal voice, equal voting rights and plural discursive space. We have respected each others' sovereign concerns admirably and we have served the cause of democracy in the conduct of international relations well. We have to preserve and re-serve these organising principles.

Even as we all evolve in our own ways, these must remain the core principles for BRICS. There have been some headwinds recently that have drawn my attention to these aspects. Since we are among friends, I should unhesitatingly draw your attention to these — if we lose this ethos and ethic — we lose the BRICS.

I thank our hosts once again and look forward to two days with you. Namaste.

China
Source: eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn

The BRICS Summit, planned for September in China, is expected to promote pragmatic cooperation among member states in a wide range of areas, senior diplomats from the BRICS bloc said on June 14. Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr, vice-president of the New Development Bank, said that the bank is working together with China's Ministry of Finance "to come up with some items that can be announced" at the summit on Sept 3 to 5 in Xiamen, Fujian province.

"For example, a second round of projects that could be announced by September. The establishment of an African regional center in South Africa," he said.

The banker made the remarks on the sidelines of the second BRICS Sherpa meeting, held in Qingdao, Shandong province. The Sherpa meeting was aimed at preparing for the summit－senior diplomats from BRICS member countries who are in charge of coordination are called Sherpas.

The NDB will be involved in financing infrastructure projects under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

"Our bank has as one of its central aspects to support the financing of infrastructure in member countries. We will be able to help the Belt and Road Initiative," he said.

The NDB was set up with an initial authorized capital of US$100 billion after the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa signed the treaty for its establishment during the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2014. The bank officially opened in Shanghai in 2015.

Alok A. Dimri, joint secretary of Multilateral Economic Relations at the Ministry of External Affairs of India, said there are multiple dimensions and initiatives on which BRICS countries are working together.

"We have the New Development Bank, which works on infrastructure. The BRICS have lots of initiatives in the fields of infrastructure, finance and people to people. It's ongoing," he said.

Among the initiatives he mentioned were the BRICS Film Festival, BRICS youth forum and BRICS academy council, and he added that BRICS countries also had discussions on political security.

BRICS countries have an important role to play in addressing global challenges including the unstable situation in the Middle East, conflicts in some African countries, and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, said Anil Sooklal, deputy director-general of Asia and the Middle East at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa.

"BRICS represents over 40 percent of the global population. When the five leaders meet for the summit in Xiamen, it's not just the five leaders' meeting. It's over 40 percent of the global population." he said.

China
Source: en.people.cn

BRASILIA, June 15 -- Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Aloysio Nunes will be traveling to China to meet with authorities there over bilateral matters and take part in a meeting of ministers from the BRICS bloc of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The June 16 to 20 trip will see Nunes meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday, and take part in the second Brazil-China Strategic Global Dialogue, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

"The strategic dialogue, one of the principal institutional mechanisms for coordination between the two countries, offers both a regular and direct opportunity to interchange ideas on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues," the ministry said.

Later, Nunes will meet with China's Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan, to discuss economic and trade matters of interest to both sides, as well as matters relating to the Sino-Brazilian High-Level Commission for Concertation and Cooperation.

The June 18 and 19 BRICS ministerial gathering is set to discuss current global affairs, as well as cooperation within the increasingly consolidated bloc and preparations for an upcoming summit to be held in September in Xiamen.

"BRICS contributes to perfecting and strengthening institutions of global governance in the field of politics and diplomacy, as well as in the area of economy, finance and trade. A player with global interests and concerns, Brazil gives great importance to political dialogue with its BRICS partners," said the ministry.

Since 2009, China has been Brazil's leading trade partner, with bilateral trade exchange amounting to 58.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, and is a key investor in the South American country.

India
Source: www.firstpost.com

Beijing: India on Sunday said it looks forward to strengthening its strategic partnership and mutual dialogue with China as the two sides held talks in Beijing amid differences over a host of issues including the $50 billion CPEC and India's NSG membership bid.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh met Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting being held here to finalise the agenda for this year's BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit to be held in September in China's Xiamen city.

They discussed steps to strengthen strategic relations on the directions laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting at Astana recently.

Wang referred to the fruitful and constructive meeting between Xi and Modi on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on 8-9 June at Astana.

In his opening remarks, Singh said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj wanted to visit Beijing but health and other restrictions did not permit her.

"She is looking forward to meet you," he said.

Xi and Modi have "laid down directions for us and both the countries to proceed with a path of mutual respect, mutual cooperation on how to improve the existing mechanisms so that more trade, commerce and people to people contacts can take place," Singh said.

"We both are Asian neighbours, two growing economies, people with ancient relations, we mark the path others to follow. India looks forward to strengthening and deepening its strategic partnership and mutual dialogue with China," he said, adding he looks forward to many interactions with Wang.

Singh avoided making any reference to differences between the two countries including India's sovereignty concerns over the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing blocking India's entry into the strategic Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) besides a UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Masood Azhar.

India last month skipped China's high-profile Belt and Road Forum (BRF) under which CPEC comes.

Beijing also opposed the visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh which it considered as part of Tibet.

Officials said that both the governments are keen to find common ground on the contentious issues.

Singh later attended a banquet hosted by Wang for the Foreign Ministers of BRICS countries.

All the foreign ministers from the BRICS who would also call on Xi.

During the foreign ministers' meet, China is expected to outline the agenda for this year's BRICS summit which included efforts to seek common ground against terrorism.

The meeting is a precursor to a chain of meetings of BRICS officials including the National Security Advisors (NSAs) meeting to be held later next month ahead of the summit.

China took over the rotating presidency of the BRICS from India after last year's Goa summit of the group of emerging countries.

China is also expected to outline its proposals for the BRICS summit.

At the Goa summit, India invited heads of the members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) excluding Pakistan from the region.

Incidentally, this is the first time that the foreign ministers meeting has been called by a host country holding the BRICS Summit.

Italy
Source: www.ipsnews.net

ROME, Jun 16 2017 (IPS) - With the clock ticking toward the 2030 deadline for meeting the international goals to eradicate hunger and poverty, five of the world's most important emerging economies are well positioned to take a leading role in helping to achieve these objectives, according to the United Nations.

The five countries, known collectively as the "BRICS" (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), form an important economic block, the Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on June 16 reported.

They account for more than 40 per cent of the world's population and over 20 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Together, they produce more than one-third of global cereal production. Last year, Russia became the largest wheat exporter in the world.

"The BRICS countries play an important political role in the international arena. Developing countries around the world look to your successes in economic development over the past few decades as an example to follow," said Kundhavi Kadiresan, Assistant Director-General and FAO's Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, during the 7th Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Agriculture, in Nanjing, China.

"Your experiences provide a path that can help us all meet our global collective commitments, namely those of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and the Paris climate accord."

Kadiresan pointed out that, despite trends towards urbanization, poverty in the world today is primarily rural. As a result, accelerating rural development will be key to achieving the SDGs.

"The question is how can we do this? Our experiences in countries in different parts of the world have shown that it can best be done through a combination of agricultural growth and targeted social protection, but also through growth in the rural nonfarm economy," she said.

"Agriculture can be a driver of sustained and inclusive rural growth. In low-income countries, growth originating from agriculture is twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth originating from other sectors of the economy."

Equally important is that all the tools, approaches and technologies developed "must be useful and accessible to poor family farmers in developing countries" so that they can increase production and productivity.

BRICS Strong in Agricultural Research

Achieving agricultural growth would also require investments in research and development, and the BRICS countries could play a leading role in this, as all five countries have strong agricultural research systems that are working on many of the challenges faced by developing countries, such as feeding a growing population in a sustainable way, according to FAO.

"Biotechnology would also play a key role in these advances, as would agro-ecological approaches. Climate-smart agriculture will be essential to adapt to the uncertain changes facing our farmers, and it will rely heavily on cutting-edge research."

Information and Communication Technologies are becoming more widespread by the day, and they offer a promising approach to address many of the challenges smallholders face with regard to information on prices, weather forecasts, vaccines, financial services, and much more.

Agricultural Growth Not Enough

Agricultural growth, as important as it is, cannot eradicate hunger and poverty all by itself – social protection programmes can also play a key role in rural development, the UN specialised body says.

These programmes have important poverty reduction and health benefits, and can also strengthen the confidence of family farmers, encouraging them to become more entrepreneurial, it explains. "Brazil's Fome Zero and India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are global references in this regard."

Kadiresan stressed that it is important not to overlook the key role played by the rural non-farm economy in fostering rural development.

"As economies transform, most farm households obtain significant income from activities other than farming. The income from these activities provides not only a higher standard of living, but also a more stable one in many cases. Governments play a key role in encouraging this transformation by investing in rural health and education," she said.

"While these investments are typically not within the Ministry of Agriculture's mandate, we must support such investments, as they are in the interest of our rural constituents. Where would any of us be today without the opportunities provided by our former teachers and a strong educational system?"

International trade could also serve as an effective instrument in promoting food security and act as an adaptation tool to climate change. When an inevitable bad harvest occurs, as it does in every country at some stage, timely imports can help to rebalance the domestic food economy.

Russia
Source: sputniknews.com

A source in the Russian delegation said that Sergey Lavrov will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing.

BEIJING (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Sunday, a source in the Russian delegation said.

Lavrov has arrived in Beijing to participate in the meeting of the foreign ministers of the BRICS countries. During a two-day meeting the ministers are set discuss the settlement of major conflicts, including in the Middle East and Africa, as well as countering threat of the international terrorism.

BRICS is an association of five developing economies — Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa — which comprises over one third of the world's population. In 2017, BRICS is chaired by China. The 2017 BRICS Summit is scheduled to begin in September in Xiamen in the eastern Fujian province.

India
Source: indianexpress.com

The BRICS countries are well positioned to take a leading role in helping achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals as well as the Paris Climate accord, a top official of the UN food agency has said. "The BRICS countries play an important political role in the international arena. Developing countries around the world look to your successes in economic development over the past few decades as an example to follow," Kundhavi Kadiresan, Assistant Director-General and UN's Food and Agriculture Organization's Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, said at the 7th Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Agriculture, in Nanjing, China last week.

BRICS is the acronym for an association of the world's five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. "Your experiences provide a path that can help us all meet our global collective commitments, namely those of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – its 17 Sustainable Development Goals – and the Paris climate accord," she said. The UN official said the BRICS countries form an economic block that accounts for more than 40 per cent of the world's population and over 20 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP). Together, they produce more than one-third of global cereal production, with Russia becoming the largest wheat exporter in the world.

As the clock ticks towards the 2030 deadline for meeting global goals to eradicate hunger and poverty, the United Nations agriculture agency asserted that the five vitally important emerging economies are well positioned to take a leading role in helping the world achieve these targets. Kadiresan pointed out that, despite trends towards urbanization, as poverty in the world today is primarily rural, accelerating rural development will be key to achieving the SDGs. "The question is how can we do this," she said, adding "our experiences in countries in different parts of the world have shown that it can best be done through a combination of agricultural growth and targeted social protection, but also through growth in the rural nonfarm economy."

She underscored that agriculture can be a driver of sustained and inclusive rural growth, saying "In low-income countries, growth originating from agriculture is twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth originating from other sectors of the economy." Achieving agricultural growth would require research and development investments, in which BRICS countries could play a leading role as all five have strong agricultural research systems working on developing countries' challenges. Biotechnology and agro-ecological approaches would also be essential, FAO official said.

The agency cited India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act as key social programmes that play a vital role in rural development. It noted that agricultural growth, as important as it is, cannot eradicate hunger and poverty all by itself – social protection programmes can also play a key role in rural development. "These programmes have important poverty reduction and health benefits, and can also strengthen the confidence of family farmers, encouraging them to become more entrepreneurial. Brazil's Fome Zero and India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are global references in this regard," it said.

It said the information and communication technologies are becoming more widespread by the day, and they offer a promising approach to address many of the challenges small farmers face with regard to information on prices, weather forecasts, vaccines, financial services, and much more.

India
Source: www.firstpost.com

Beijing: India and other BRICS members on Thursday pledged to strengthen partnership and jointly usher in a second 'golden decade' of cooperation among the major emerging economies.

The pledge came during the second BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Sherpa meeting that began on Wednesday in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province.

Participants in the meeting reviewed the progress of BRICS cooperation in key areas such as political, security, economy, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and focused on the outcome of the upcoming 2017 BRICS Summit, which is scheduled between 3-5 September in the coastal city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"The five countries are not together by chance. The consensus building is very easy among us. We think very similarly on most issues such as international relations, foreign policy and the importance of the multilateral system," Brazilian sherpa Georges Lamaziere said.

"We are all in favour of openness in the economy, free trade and climate change agreement, and I think that's the most important message that BRICS is sending to the world."

Indian deputy sherpa Alok Dimri said the priority of BRICS is the economic and financial market forum, which focuses on the reform of the economic and global governance system.

"There are multiple dimensions and initiatives on which BRICS is working together. We have the New Development Bank (NDB), which works on infrastructure, and lots of initiatives in the fields of finance and people-to-people exchanges," he said.

The NDB, established by the BRICS in 2014, was a milestone for pragmatic financial cooperation among the BRICS.

"The bank can be seen as a platform for the BRICS as a whole to reach out to other countries. One of its central aspects is to support the financing of infrastructure in member countries. So it will be able to assist the Belt and Road Initiative," said Paulo Batista, vice president of the NDB.

"We are confident that the Xiamen summit will be a huge success and cement cooperation and interaction among all BRICS members. We are very impressed by China's thoughtful and productive preparation work. We think that the Xiamen summit will usher in the golden decade of BRICS," said Russian BRICS sherpa and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.

The second BRICS Sherpa meeting was chaired by Li Baodong, sherpa for BRICS affairs and vice foreign minister of China, and attended by sherpas and sous-sherpas of BRICS countries and representatives from the NDB.

India
Source: www.thehindu.com

Conference urges nations to stand for open world economy

A major brainstorming exercise involving political parties, think tanks and civil society organisations of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping have counselled emerging economies to lead a new wave of globalisation, and step up the fight against international terrorism.

The two-day conference organised by the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed recommendations for the September summit of BRICS in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeastern China. It advised that a coalition of emerging economies and developing countries should lead the combat against climate change — a proposal that is aimed to fill the leadership vacuum following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.

The Fuzhou conference focused on rewriting the rules of global economic governance led by a coalition of BRICS and developing countries. It also urged the emerging economies to promote sustainable globalisation, and build coalitions to counter climate change.

Equitable world order


The Fuzhou Initiative, released at the end of the conference, pointed out that on account of the "setbacks and global challenges" experienced by globalisation, the BRICS and developing countries must "stand firm to preserve and foster an open world economy, champion multilateral trade regime and facilitate healthy development of economic globalisation".

The BRICS should also work towards "a more equitable and reasonable international order, whose rules are no longer defined by the great powers that emerged after the World War II.

The initiative also recommended that Intelligence sharing and a cyber-security focus among BRICS should be integrated as part of a collective counter-terrorism strategy.

Russia
Author: Yaroslav Lissovolik
Source: valdaiclub.com

The current global setting characterized by waning integration and liberalization impulses in the developed world presents a possibility and a need for a renewed impetus towards economic integration in the world economy. The global integration process is in need of a sufficiently strong starting engine, a new platform of integration that can compensate for the lack of momentum coming from the "old platform" of the developed world.

The BRICS grouping, being present in all the key regions/continents of the developing world, could serve as the basis for such a new comprehensive global platform of integration, but may encounter limitations in large-scale integration among its core heavy-weights. To overcome these limitations a wider context for the BRICS that may take on the form of BRICS+ would serve to broaden the possibility set of economic alliances that can be forged across a greater array of countries and regions. In this respect China's BRICS+ initiative announced earlier this year is timely in terms of breathing new life into the evolution of the BRICS as well as delivering a new impetus to the process of global economic integration.

But rather than expanding the core set of BRICS members, the BRICS+ initiative seeks to create a new platform for forging regional and bilateral alliances across continents and aims to bring together the regional integration blocks, in which BRICS economies play a leading role. Accordingly, the main regional integration blocks that could form the BRICS+ platform include Mercosur, South African Customs Union (SACU), Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as well as the China-ASEAN FTA. Altogether in such a setting 35 countries form the BRICS+ circle:

• SACU: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
  
  
• SAARC (SAFTA members): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
  
  
• China+ASEAN FTA: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia
  
  
• Eurasian Economic Union: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan
  
  
• MERCOSUR (core members as well as acceding members): Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Venezuela
  

The main modalities of cooperation between BRICS+ countries could involve the following:

Platform for trade and investment integration: in the trade and investment sphere the BRICS+ network could allow for expanding the set of FTAs/PTAs across individual countries or regional blocks of the BRICS+ grouping. Trade alliances do not have to follow the standard path of comprehensive FTAs, but could also involve targeted/limited liberalization via preferential agreements (PTAs). Investment alliances and liberalization measures could be concluded in the form of lowering barriers for FDI into strategic sectors or companies as well as via lowering capital controls in mutual transactions. One of the transmission mechanisms that could be employed to facilitate the propagation of trade and investment alliances within the BRICS+ framework could be via raising the priority accorded by BRICS+ economies to an alliance with a country that has become a member of one of the core RTAs within the BRICS+ network or that has concluded trade or investment alliances with an individual country or regional block from BRICS+. An FTA alliance forged by South Korea for example with the Eurasian Economic Union could improve the possibilities for that country to conclude alliances with other regional blocks or individual countries in BRICS+.

Cooperation in international organizations, including the Bretton Woods institutions to increase the consolidated voting share. In the IMF the consolidated share of the BRICS is just below the 15% mark. The addition of BRICS+ partners would raise the consolidated share of the vote by 1-2 percentage points (depending on the exact composition of the BRICS+ circle) to more than 15%, which would enable the BRICS+ to have a blocking stake with respect to the key decisions of the Fund. BRICS+ countries could also form alliances in other international organizations, including the WTO, where a BRICS+ group in negotiations could complement other "South-South" alliances such as Asian developing members as well as G-20/G-33.

Cooperation between the respective development banks and other development institutions formed by BRICS+ economies, namely the Eurasian Development bank (EDB), the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), the SAARC Development Fund (SDF), Structural convergence fund for MERCOSUR (FOCEM), China Development bank (CDB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the New Development Bank (NDB). Within this group of development institutions the NDB could potentially perform a coordinating role with respect to BRICS+ initiatives, while there could also be a role for the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which could serve as a platform for bringing together the financing from developing and developed economies. Within this network of regional development institutions cooperation could be targeted towards co-financing investment projects as well as initiatives/programs aimed at fostering the attainment of key development goals (human capital development, ecology, financial sector integration/cooperation).

Use of national currencies/payment systems: the BRICS+ circle could serve as an extensive platform for the creation of BRICS+ countries' payment systems and the expansion in their use. It could also serve as a platform for extending the use of national currencies in mutual trade and investment transactions, thus reducing the dependency on the US dollar and the euro.

Cooperation in establishing own reserve currencies/regional and global financial centers: the countries that form part of the regional blocks of BRICS+ could support each others' efforts in promoting the creation of international financial centers (though admittedly there may be also competition, particularly in a regional context) via listing companies in the exchanges of BRICS+ economies. There may also be greater cooperation in advancing some of the BRICS+ currencies as reserve currencies that become part of gold and currency reserves of the respective Central Banks.

In effect closer cooperation between the regional blocks and the development banks in the BRICS+ circle is already taking place. In terms of the cooperation between the regional blocks Mercosur signed a memorandum of understanding with the Eurasian Economic Union and henceforth continued discussions on a possible cooperation agreement between the two blocks. In December 2004, MERCOSUR and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) - composed of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland - signed a preferential trade agreement. The Preferential Trade Agreement between the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), was signed on 15 December 2008, in Salvador, Brazil; and, on 03 April 2009 in Maseru, Lesotho. After being ratified by all signatory parties, the Preferential Trade Agreement between MERCOSUR and SACU entered into force on 1 April 2016. In terms of the cooperation between the development banks of BRICS countries in 2016, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) in cooperation with the New Development Bank, Nord Hydro and the International Investment Bank (IIB) reached an agreement on the construction of small hydropower plants in the Republic of Karelia. The BRICS countries' New Development Bank (NDB) will fund the construction of the plants in Karelia with a total amount of USD 100 million, making it its first investment in the Russian Federation. The NDB will provide the IIB and the EDB with targeted financing of USD 50 million each for opening a credit line for Nord Hydro in Russian roubles. The maturity of the loan is 12 years, with the IIB and the EDB covering associated project risks. In April 2017 the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) signed a memorandum on the cooperation with the New Development Bank.

In sum, the BRICS+ network offers possibilities for greater trade and investment integration as well as a supportive institutional framework of coordination among regional development banks and development of financial systems. The key principle in this process is to allow for substantial flexibility in the multilateralization of alliances to include trade and/or investment, as well as the possibility of regional and/or bilateral alliances. In this respect the pattern of BRICS+ integration is more akin to that of ASEAN and East Asia more generally which is characterized by the prevalence of bilateral alliances and variations in integration patterns as opposed to the pattern of the EU predicated on a set of uniform standards targeting the creation of one single block. Contrary to the core-periphery pattern prevalent in the preceding decades the BRICS+ model offers the possibility of open and diversified integration in the global economy.

Russia
Source: sputniknews.com

The foreign ministers of the BRICS countries will discuss the settlement of major conflicts, including in the Middle East and Africa, as well as countering threat of the international terrorism during a meeting in Beijing on June 18-19, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to attend the meeting, according to the ministry.

"The meeting will focus on a wide range of the most pressing problems of maintaining international peace and stability, the world economy, the interaction and coordination of the approaches of the BRICS countries in the complex conditions of global turbulence. The ministers will hold an in-depth exchange of views on the problems of resolving acute international conflicts, including in Syria, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa, intensifying joint work to counter threat of the international terrorism," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the countries were committed to the methods of collective resolution of crisis situations by political and diplomatic means, and joint resistance to new global challenges and threats.

BRICS is an association of five developing economies — Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa — which comprises over one third of the world's population. In 2017, BRICS is chaired by China. The 2017 BRICS Summit is scheduled to begin in September in Xiamen in the eastern Fujian province.

India
Source: www.outlookindia.com

China said today that the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting being held here next week will involve a candid exchange of views to forge consensus on counter terrorism while claiming that it opposes any "double standards" on the issue.

"On counter terrorism, we have a clear-cut position that terrorism is the common enemy of mankind," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters here responding to BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav's comments that BRICS countries should shun double standards in fighting terrorism.

"We oppose any double standard adopted by the countries in counter terrorism efforts," he said without referring to the criticism against China over blocking a UN ban on Jaish- e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar.

Lu said "the BRICS foreign ministers will conduct a candid exchange of views on this issue".

The foreign ministers meeting from on June 18-19 is expected to unveil the agenda for this year's BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit to be held in September in China's Xiamen city.

"The five countries are not expected to have any essential divergences and differences on this issue because the counter terrorism efforts call on the international community to form consensus and forge a joint effort in this regard," Lu said.

At the same time, Lu said while everybody thinks that there should be no double standards on the issue of counter terrorism, "indeed counter terrorism requires the international community to build consensus on the basis of mutual respect".

Speaking at the BRICS political parties, think tanks and civil society organisations meeting last week at the Chinese city of Fuzhou, Madhav was quoted as saying that the five- member bloc should shun "narrow self-interests and double standards" which hampered the fight against international terrorism.

"We need to be convinced and convince others through our actions that all forms of terrorism are bad, and distinction of your terrorism and my terrorism or good terrorists and bad terrorists are unscrupulous and ill-conceived," Madhav said in an apparent reference to China blocking India's efforts to get Azhar banned by the UN.

Lu said the BRICS will serve as an important organisation for strengthening relations between the developing countries with growing international influence.

"We think this foreign ministers meeting will help us to exchange in-depth views on important international issues and other issues of mutual concern," he said.

India will be represented at the meeting by Minister of State for External Affairs Gen (retd) V K Singh.

The meeting is a precursor to the chain of meetings of BRICS officials including the National Security Advisors (NSAs) meeting to be held later next month ahead of the Summit.

Incidentally, this is the first time the foreign ministers meeting has been called by a host country holding the BRICS Summit.

China took over the rotating presidency of the BRICS from India after last year's Goa Summit.

The ministers meeting was regarded as significant from both the bilateral point of view for India as well as for this year's Summit, the structure of which would be decided by the host country.

Bilaterally, the foreign ministers meeting comes in the backdrop of India-China discord over a host of issues, including the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, culminating in India's boycott of the Belt and Road Forum last month hosted by China to highlight the progress of ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

China also continues to maintain that there is no change in its stand on India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as well as on the blocking of the UN ban on Azhar.

Also, China was expected to outline its proposals for the BRICS Summit, specially which are the countries it plans to invite for the Summit.

At the Goa Summit, India invited heads of the members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke about BRICS Plus but gave no details.

Russia
Source: www.mid.ru

Mr Umakhanov,

Friends and colleagues,

I am honoured to be able to address a conference of the Russian Afro-Asian Solidarity and Cooperation Committee, one of Russia's oldest and most highly respected NGOs. You are doing a very important and relevant job. We are glad to be hosting your conference. We welcome the numerous foreign guests and high officials, including from the Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO), who have accepted our invitation.

Russia has contributed to decolonisation by supporting the Asian and African peoples' selfless struggle for independence and by helping them choose their path of development. The Soviet Afro-Asian Solidarity Committee played a major role in this. It was largely thanks to its efforts that the UN General Assembly adopted the history-making Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 1960. The Committee worked effectively to promote cultural and humanitarian exchanges and to strengthen overall friendship and trust among our peoples.

I am glad that mutually beneficial cooperation between our states continues to grow and prosper in a broad range of areas despite global turbulence. Our cooperation is based on the coincidence or similarity of views on key international issues and also on our mutual commitment to the promotion of international relations firmly based on international law, respect for the national identity of peoples of the world and their desire to determine their future on their own. For example, a large package of documents has been signed following the Russian-Indian summit meeting in St Petersburg on June 1. The BRICS Foreign Ministers Council will convene in three days to exchange opinions on the key issues of peace and stability, the global economy and the strengthening of strategic partnership within the BRICS. Early next month, we expect President of China Xi Jinping to visit Russia.

We have been working consistently to uphold the sovereignty of Asian and African nations and protest against foreign interference in their internal affairs. We will continue to promote their dynamic development and the settlement of crises and conflicts, primarily in the Middle East and North Africa, by political and diplomatic means. We would like also to further coordinate our actions at the UN and other international organisations in the name of sustainable global development and global and regional security and stability.

We highly appreciate the contribution made by public diplomacy and NGOs to the strengthening of mutual understanding and cooperation between our nations. I hope that the Russian Afro-Asian Solidarity and Cooperation Committee will make good use of the experience it has accumulated over the past decades to promote the multifaceted ties that have linked us together over a span of so many years.

We welcome your painstaking work, including the opening of branches in some 50 Russian regions and in particular the establishment of a youth section. We hope that the action programme, which you plan to adopt following discussions, will boost your noble activities. For our part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to provide all-round assistance to your committee.

Thank you.

Russia
Source: www.mid.ru

On June 14-15, Qingdao (PRC) hosted this year's second meeting of sherpas and sous-sherpas from the BRICS countries. The meeting was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister and Russian BRICS Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov.

The participants discussed further steps to promote five-way strategic cooperation and current issues related to preparations for the upcoming high- and top-level BRICS events, including a meeting of foreign ministers in Beijing on June 18-19, the leaders' informal meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg in July, and the 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen on September 3-5.

Australia
Source: www.foreignbrief.com

The foreign ministers of the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—will head to Beijing today for a two day summit. China, which currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency, is expected to reveal its agenda for the September summit in Xiamen.

This is the first time that the BRICS foreign ministers have met ahead of an annual summit, allowing the five emerging economies to have greater cohesion in shaping the agenda. It comes as the bloc is strengthening economically after a period of slow growth, particularly in Russia and Brazil, both of which recently posted their first quarters of growth in two years.

But China is undoubtedly the dominant player in the bloc; it accounts for two thirds of its combined GDP and eight of its ten largest stocks. That position could influence internal disputes—such as India's boycott of last month's Belt and Road forum.

When China puts forward its agenda at today's meeting it could use the bloc's internal and external economic links to assert itself as a champion of global markets and trade—a role China has claimed as Donald Trump's America looks inward.

India
Source: www.rammadhav.in

Thank you for hosting this political parties forum and inviting us in the run up to the forthcoming BRICS Leaders Conclave. The amount of preparatory work that is being undertaken by the IDCPC clearly demonstrates the importance that China attaches to BRICS alliance.

In ten years BRICS has come of age. It has grown into an important non-Western voice in the world, thanks to the efforts of all the member countries. Today its gaining strength and influence further. When we hosted the 8th BRICS Summit at Goa last year we were joined by the BIMSTEC countries. We understand that a number of countries are likely to join us at the next BIMSTEC meeting in China too.

BRICS countries are engaged in cooperation in a large number of areas including political relations, security, trade and economy, defence technology, energy, science and culture. As leaders of the political parties from the BRICS nations we should also step in and take up the responsibility for encouraging more people-to-people cultural, educational and humanitarian exchanges, so as to evolve a foreign policy in each of our countries that contributes to the establishment of a more peaceful and just world order.

The world is facing transformative challenges in this century. The upheavals that have become a daily occurrence in the global body politic call for a proactive role for the BRICS nations. These challenges cover issues like the future of the Paris Climate Deal, Afghanistan, Middle East, North Korea, West Asia, terrorism etc. BRICS countries can use their influence and power to play a constructive role in addressing several of these challenges.

However the real challenge for the BRICS countries is internal. We are a group from diverse regions and diverse problems. One common factor that binds us together is that as a non-Western grouping we can offer a non-Western narrative to the world problems. However, a coherent intra-BRICS narrative still eludes us. Without such a narrative bilateralism has the potential to undermine multilateralism.

I hope and urge that the political and intellectual leadership in the BRICS nations takes up that challenge and helps build a coherent BRICS narrative for global governance in the 21st century.

Thank you.

China
Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn

Members of bloc to hold multiple high-level meetings this year

BRICS member states have had in-depth discussions and reached broad consensus on such issues as political security, economic, and people-to-people exchanges for the summit to be held in Xiamen, Fujian province, in September, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Thursday.

The BRICS members have agreed to hold a series of high-level events throughout this year, including an informal leaders' meeting in Hamburg, Germany, during the G20 summit next month, said Li Baodong, vice-foreign minister.

Li made the remark during the second BRICS Sherpa meeting in Qingdao, Shan-dong province, which was aimed at preparing for the summit. Senior diplomats from BRICS member countries who are in charge of coordination are called Sherpas.

At the two-day meeting, which ended on Thursday, the member states agreed that the outcome document of the BRICS leaders' informal meeting during the G20 Hamburg, Germany, summit should reflect the BRICS position on upholding an open world economy and more inclusive and balanced economic globalization, supporting a multilateral trading system, and advancing the reform of economic governance, Li said.

The vice-minister also highlighted the meetings among the BRICS countries' national security advisers, foreign ministers' meeting, and ministerial level meetings on trade, industry, agriculture, health and other areas, to ensure success of the Xiamen summit.

Sergey A. Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said that the member states have good experience at BRICS "in terms of talking very straightforwardly on many things", which is important at a time when the international situation "is very turbulent".

The senior Russian diplomat said that he is very sure and confident the Xiamen summit will be a huge success that will cement the cooperation and interaction among all BRICS members.

The BRICS chairmanship continues the very good trend, established during the G20 chairmanship of China last year, of taking consideration of all sides, he added.

Georges Lamaziere, a senior Brazilian diplomat who attended the meeting, said that the BRICS members have many common thoughts on issues including international relations, the openness of economy, climate change, and the importance of political and economic multilateral system.

"The five countries are not together by chance. Because they are similar. They are developing countries and big countries that have a similar foreign policy," he said, adding that the BRICS countries have sent positive messages of openness and multilateralism to the world.

"We are in favor of openness of economy, free trade and climate change agreement," he said.

China
Source: www.fmprc.gov.cn

From 14 to 15 June, the second BRICS Sherpa meeting was held in Qingdao, Shandong Province. It was chaired by Li Baodong, Sherpa for BRICS affairs and Vice Foreign Minister of China, and attended by Sherpas and Sous-Sherpas of BRICS countries and representatives from the New Development Bank.

Participants to the meeting had a systematic review of the progress made by BRICS countries in the political field, security, economy, trade, finance, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, institutional building and other key cooperation areas. They focused and reached broad consensus on the expected outcomes of the Xiamen Summit, BRICS Leaders' Informal Meeting in Hamburg and the Dialogue of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries, as well as preparations for the Meeting of National Security Advisers and the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

All participants agreed to continue to strengthen the BRICS partnership, deepen practical cooperation across the board, and jointly usher in the second "golden decade" of BRICS cooperation. The parties spoke highly of China's leading role as BRICS Chair for this year and expressed their willingness to continue to fully back China's effort and work together to make the Xiamen Summit a great success.

China will host the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Fujian Province from 3 to 5 September. Held at a key moment of preparations, this Sherpa meeting is important in advancing the preparatory work in various fields, particularly the Summit deliverables.

China
Source: europe.chinadaily.com.cn

Opportunities abound for further beneficial cooperation, say experts as summit looms

MOSCOW - About three months ahead of a BRICS summit in China, Russian analysts see immense potential to increase and diversify economic cooperation between the two countries.

Vast opportunities can be created during the development of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the process of Russia's "import substitution" industrialization, experts say, adding that closer economic ties between the two strategic partners will be mutually beneficial.

They also believe that China-Russia trade should be expanded to more nonenergy sectors so that bilateral economic cooperation can develop in a sustainable way.

These remarks come as the BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are busy preparing for the ninth summit of the bloc's leaders on Sept 3 to 5 in Xiamen, Fujian province.

The development of transportation facilities is one of the key problems Russia faces, given its vast territory and low quality of roads and railways.

"Chinese investment and joint projects will play a major role in the vast areas of Siberia and the Far East, as well as in other parts of Russia," says Sergei Luzyanin, director of the Far Eastern Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Luzyanin pins high hopes on the Belt and Road Initiative, which can "greatly stimulate the development of infrastructure".

To finance infrastructure construction, the BRICS New Development Bank should play a bigger role, says Yaroslav Lissovolik, chief economist of the Eurasian Development Bank.

Russia responded to Western sanctions following its annexation of Crimea in 2014 with an "import substitution" policy in various sectors in a bid to boost domestic industrial production.

The process of import substitution industrialization creates opportunities for Chinese direct investment in Russia, says Vitaly Monkevich, president of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

"This is beneficial for both sides, since Chinese businesses will achieve a higher profit rate and the ability to sell products to China, and Russia will get investment and new jobs," says Monkevich.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Chinese companies invested more than $100 million (89 million euros; ￡78.7 million) in Russia between January and April this year.

"We see a serious interest in Russia-China cooperation from business circles of both countries," says Monkevich.

Trade between China and Russia jumped by 26.2 percent year-on-year to $24.7 billion in the first four months of 2017, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

In addition to oil and gas, Russian analysts see the possibility of expanding bilateral trade to more areas.

Members of the Russian Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs "often turn to us with requests for export of sunflower oil, honey, ice cream, confectionery and alcohol. ... We see great potential for the development of exports other than raw materials," says Monkevich.

As for space cooperation between Russia and China, Luzyanin expects joint manned space stations and joint space missions in the future.

Furthermore, Luzyanin and Lissovolik, who are also members of the Russian think tank Valdai Discussion Club, suggest that Chinese and Russian computer programmers cooperate in ensuring cybersecurity and developing internet-based business.

"All this together creates a new quality for the growth of Russia-China cooperation. We can deal with oil and gas and talk about diversifying cooperation at the same time," says Luzyanin.

China
Source: www.ndb.int

On 18 June 2017, the 10th Board of Directors (BoD) Meeting of the New Development Bank was held in Shanghai, China. During the meeting, the Board provided valuable guidance to the NDB management and approved revised policy documents pertaining to IT and information disclosure.

The project pipeline in the five member countries of the Bank and other matters related to ongoing work of the NDB were discussed.

Quarterly Audited Financial Report for the period of 1 January 2017 – 31 March 2017, budget revisions for 2017, Minutes and Summary of the 9th BoD meeting held on 31 March 2017 were approved by the Board.

The Board also approved the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the New Development Bank on the Hosting of the New Development Bank Africa Regional Centre in the Republic of South Africa.

Background information
The New Development Bank was created with an objective of financing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries. The Bank will complement the efforts of other financial institutions and establish a network of global, regional and local partnerships with multilateral and national development banks as well as other institutions and market players.

China
Source: www.ndb.int

On 13 June 2017, the New Development Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with export credit insurance agencies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — Brazilian Guarantees Agency (Agência Brasileira Gestora de Fundos Garantidores e Garantias S.A., ABGF), Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance (EXIAR), Indian ECGC Ltd., China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (SINOSURE), Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa Ltd. (ECIC). On behalf of the NDB, the MoU was signed by Mr. Xian Zhu, NDB Vice President, Chief Operations Officer.

According to the MoU, its purpose is to develop and facilitate cooperation between the NDB and the BRICS export credit insurance agencies (ECAs) in matters of common interest and set out areas for strategic, technical and operational cooperation towards the achievement of their common objectives.

The Memorandum provides a framework for cooperation of the parties in the areas of exploring and pursuing opportunities for guarantees and insurances of the NDB financed and co-financed projects; sharing experience and knowledge in the area of financial assistance for the preparation and implementation of sustainable development and infrastructure projects; experience and knowledge sharing in economics, banking, financing, investment, risk evaluation and insurance; providing mutual training and capacity building for human resource management.
The NDB and ECAs confirm their willingness to originate and implement projects in BRICS countries on a cooperation basis involving the Bank's financing and insurance and/or guarantee coverage from the BRICS ECAs.

South Africa
Author: Melanie Peters
Source: www.iol.co.za

Fuzhou – The Brics alliance is not a "silver bullet" to South Africa's current financial woes, warned deputy secretary general of the ANC Jessie Duarte at a press conference at a Brics forum held in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province. The two-day forum, which concluded on Monday, drew more than 400 participants from political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organisations from Brics and other developing countries.

Brics is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Duarte said the country would continue to seek "new trade relationships".

"We would continue to look for new trade partners as well as continue with our involvement in Brics."

She said the country's recession was due to high unemployment, the Western economic downturn and the work of the country's old colonial masters.

Duarte also spoke at the closing ceremony of the Brics Political Parties, Think-tanks and Civil Society Organisations Forum. This year's theme is "Pooling wisdom and efforts towards common development and a brighter future".

Duarte said the forum was extremely valuable, well organised and a great success.

"It enabled these three components from developing countries... to pull together. Political parties and academics, with fresh ideas and even allowed for criticism of old ideas. We are open to that, this is the ethos of Brics. We also had an opportunity to interact with civil society and learn how they see development... to talk about the realities of development, how that development could be supported."

She encouraged the Brics nations to put people first as they developed trade relationships. "Our people need basic services, work and for us to grow our economies. We will not emulate what we do not want. Let us create, what the Chinese Communist Party call the new norm for the world, one we can live with, one we can examine, one which we can criticise.

"If there is an issue we don't want, we can change it. There is no one among us who will say change is not possible. We are a gathering of progressive people."

She said Brics was born out of "how we were treated as developing countries and emerging economies" by western counterparts.

"In another constellation they look at monetary value not human value. Let us look at human value. Trade gives us the initiative to implement what we really need to do in our various countries."

But she cautioned that it was not one-size fits all. "No everything will be fit for everyone. One initiative that South Africa does believe we should look at positively is the Belt and Road initiative. It can work for some of us."

South Africa will be hosting the forum next year. "We will use the year to examine our progress… It is important to grow the family and add new voices."

Addressing the closing ceremony, Song Tao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said Brics political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organisations should facilitate co-operation that would elevate the five nations to their role as advocates for new global governance and forerunners of new South-South co-operation.

"Brics should promote the Belt and Road Initiative, to inject new vitality to Brics co-operation," he said.

China hoped to work with other Brics countries and developing countries, Song said.

The objective of the forum was to cover groundwork and raise pertinent issues ahead of the Brics Summit which will be hosted in Xiamen at the beginning of September.

The forum comes as developing countries are increasingly faced with challenges in a world economy which is sluggish, terrorism, anti-globalisation sentiments from the West grow stronger, as does populism and protectionism.

The three groups – political parties, academics and civil society organisations – drew up the Fuzhou Initiative which was declared and released at the ceremony. Its recommendations will be submitted to the Brics Summit in Xiamen.

The document said it would help "successfully usher in the second decade for Brics co-operation".

In the initiative, attendees vowed to intensify policy communication, expand cooperation, and work more with other emerging markets and developing countries.

Brics should boost political, cultural and security cooperation, have its voice heard on major international and regional issues, improve cyber security cooperation, enhance sharing intelligence and experience in countering terrorism, and jointly work toward combating extremism, separatism, narcotics, piracy and organised crimes, according to the document.- Additional reporting Xinhau

Brazil
Source: www.plenglish.com

Beijing, June 17 (Prensa Latina) BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) agriculture ministers highlighted today the importance of cooperation and food security in Nanjing, in the south of the country.

After a three-day meeting, the ministers issued a joint statement highlighting the importance of social, economic and environmental support to ensure the sustainable development of food security.

According to the document, the ministers agreed to promote multilateral coordination and defend against protectionism.

Attendees of the meeting underscored the need to work to resolve the problem of climate change and highlighted BRICS commitment to technological innovation in food security, ecological agriculture, and environmental improvement.

They also agreed to share new technologies and explore new forms of cooperation to fuel a new trend of agricultural growth.

The 9th BRICS Summit will be held next September in the Chinese city of Xiamen, Fujian Province.

As part of the meetings prior to this meeting, on June 18-19 a meeting of foreign ministers of the countries of the group will be held in this capital.

China
Source: chinaplus.cri.cn

The first-ever BRICS Games raised its curtain here at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center on Saturday evening.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to express his sincere welcome to all of the distinguished guests, athletes and coaches attending the five-day Games.

"I believe that the upcoming BRICS Games will provide a unique opportunity to improve performance, popularize traditional sports, promote sports development and enhance friendship among peoples. I hope athletes on all sides will display true sportsmanship and excel in the Games," Xi said in the letter.

Gou Zhongwen, director of China's General Administration of Sport, declared open the Games which features some 300 athletes from five countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with 10 events up for grabs in three sports - men's basketball, women's volleyball and Wushu.

As the host country, China has sent a delegation of 53 people, including 32 athletes, to take part in the first comprehensive multilateral sports and culture exchanges under the framework of BRICS cooperation.

The Chinese athletes, with an average age of 21.4, will cover all the 10 events.

Basketball player Han Dejun carried China's national flag at the opening ceremony, which was highlighted by Chinese traditional dragon dance and lion dance as well as Indian Yoga performance.

The women's volleyball event started on Saturday morning and the first gold medal will come from the wushu court on Sunday.

Apart from the competitions, the organizers have also arranged a series of culture events for the athletes and coaches at the Games.

The launch of the first BRICS Games marked an important consensus reached at the 8th BRICS Summit in Goa, India last October. China will host the 9th BRICS Summit in September in the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian Province.

USA
Author: Fernando Dias Simões
Source: papers.ssrn.com

Over the last decades, international arbitration has become the foremost technique for resolving disputes between states, individuals and corporations. The expansion of the market for international arbitration is evidenced by the multiplication of arbitral institutions around the world. Some of these institutions specialize in certain types of disputes, focusing on specific markets or trade networks. The BRICS governments are currently discussing the establishment of an arbitral institution for the resolution of commercial and investment disputes among the BRICS nations. The creation of a specialized arbitral institution may be beneficial for disputing parties if the dispute settlement mechanism suits their particular socio-economic idiosyncrasies and legal needs. This article discusses how a BRICS-centered arbitral institution should be structured to cater to the needs and expectations of its end-users.