PAKISTAN
Source: thepioneer.com.pk

ISLAMABAD – China hints at expanding BRICS with suggestion to include rising economies like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Iran, Turkey, Nigeria, Philippine, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The new block will be titled as BRICS plus.

Chinese top diplomat Wang YiChina said his country would explore modalities for Brics-plus, to hold outreach dialogues with other major developing countries.

Wang added that China will widen the circle of friends and turn Brics into the most-influential platform for south-south cooperation in the world.

The development assumes significance as China will be holding the presidency of the Brics this year. It will be hosting the ninth summit at Xiamen in September.

India senses Chinese move as ploy to cut India's influence in the group by roping in more pro-China countries into it.

CHINA
Source: en.shisu.edu.c

The cornerstones of the institutional foundations of global governance are cracking at an accelerated speed, due to the heavy blows brought on by the dramatic changes taking place in the world economy and global politics.

The current wave of globalization, which started at the end of the Cold War, is losing its momentum and may actually start to go backwards, because the economic profits it generated are gradually going down and the problems of inequality that it created in the past few decades are reaching a point of eruption with large swaths of national populations across the world.

Problems with globalization felt across the world

The US is deliberately hollowing out the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and attempting to build a new system which it may continue to dominate.

The UK is determined to break away from the European Union and is currently entangled in the process of negotiating "Brexit" with the rest of the EU, sending out shockwaves felt across the world.

The sudden 'abortion' of the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) before it was born, the impasse of TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) negotiation, the growing protectionism in the US and Europe, and the shaky European integration riddled with internal and external crises, all foretell a gloomy and inauspicious prospect of global governance on the horizon.

China: beneficiary of old globalization and champion of new globalization?

However, while the existing global governance structure is being fragmented to some degree, China may become a new powerhouse to reinvigorate the world economy and rejuvenate global governance. As both a beneficiary and a sincere supporter of globalization, China has been developing in line with the growth of the world economy. Its rise is one of the most outstanding achievements of this wave of globalization.

Now a global giant in terms of its economic weight and international influence, China becomes a progressive power that has both a capacity and a desire to rectify the existing flaws of global governance and to shape its future. Actually China has come up with a set of new approaches to carry forward global governance for the benefits of emerging economies and developing countries.

The role of BRICS in new globalization

As one of the major emerging economies of the world, China understands the needs and concerns of other members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and has an empathy for them, because China shares with them the tough experiences of being treated unfairly by developed countries and represented inadequately in the major institutions of global economic governance, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

China has a common aspiration to coordinate macroeconomic policy-making more frequently and obtain financial resources more effectively for the BRICS countries. China wants to take a leading role to build a cooperative mechanism for all the members of the BRICS, which takes the form of a multi-layered complex of summits, high-level meetings, regular forums and the BRICS Development Bank. Through these mechanisms, the paths and paces of all the emerging economies may become interconnected, and they may converge into a force to shape the future direction of world economy.

Globalization through regional integration and China's Belt and Road initiative

The second approach that China proposes to preserve and promote globalization is to push forward intra and inter regional integrations through its spectacular "Belt and Road" initiative. As a major trading power, China needs streamlined and efficient networks of transport, infrastructure, and finance outside its border to facilitate the flows of its goods and investment, but the divergent and even fragmented systems within the Eurasia Continent as well as along its coast line not only impede trade flows, but also block the exchanges of information and talents.

In order to remove the barriers that hinder the economic interconnectivity between China and other countries of the Eurasia Continent, China is implementing its Belt and Road initiative, which is a grand plan to construct a "new silk road economic belt" and a "maritime silk road", covering 64 countries extending from East Asia to West Europe. Through jointly-invested large-scale infrastructure projects funded by the "Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank" (AIIB), China is actually facilitating and molding economic integrations between and within East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Working to make the existing global institutions better

The third approach that China is strongly advocating and pushing forward by its own efforts are the reforms on the long-standing and seemingly authoritative international institutions that evolved from the early stages of the Bretton Woods System, such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. Striving for increased representation of non-western countries, China has successfully changed the share-holding structure of the IMF and helped to redesign the distribution pattern of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), resulting in a transfer of shares from developed countries to the BRICS and a more flexible policy-making mechanism.

China has also effectively pushed for similar reform measures in other international economic institutions and brought the concerns of emerging and developing economies into high-level multilateral frameworks for global governance, such as Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and G-20.

In brief, amid its economic growth and rise, China's fate has already become intertwined with global governance, which is largely correlated to its own growth and prosperity. For this reason alone it is important for China to take initiatives to set the agenda and shape the structure of these systems.

Step by step, China must endeavor to mend the deficiencies of the existing global governance system and to reignite its vitality. Despite the ominous signs of possible retreat or even reversal of global governance and the world economy, China keeps its faith and devotes itself to construct an interconnected world of common prosperity based on a win-win pattern and respect for mutual benefits.

The author is research professor of the Center for EU Studies at the Shanghai International Studies University. He is also director of research of the Shanghai Institute for European Studies and councilor of the Shanghai Council for Asia-Pacific Economy.

CHINA
Source: China Daily

Success of country's sensible diplomacy creates high expectations for this year's big events

China will host two major international gatherings this year, and expectations are that new initiatives and measures will be unveiled to spur global growth and development amid the rise of protectionism.

The importance of the two events in this year's diplomatic calendar was highlighted for China Daily by Chinese diplomats and experts attending the fifth session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee as members.

The first of the two events is the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that will be held in Beijing in May.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking with the media recently during the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress, said that the heads of state and government from over 20 economies and the leaders of over 50 international organizations will attend the forum.

He said the forum aims to examine key areas for cooperation and identify a number of major projects for connectivity in infrastructure, trade, investment and finance, as well as people-to-people exchanges.

Also it is hoped that medium- to long-term initiatives will be announced at the forum, and it can explore ways to establish an effective cooperation mechanism and build a closer and result-oriented network of partnerships, Wang added.

Jia Qingguo, professor and dean at Peking University's School of International Studies, says the upcoming forum can benefit both China and the countries along the routes by facilitating the transfer of capital, technology, talent and management experience from the developed eastern coastal region of China to those countries along the routes that need them.

"This would help sustain the development of the Chinese economy and support the development and prosperity of neighboring countries," Jia says.

The other domestic diplomatic event this year, the ninth BRICS leaders' summit, will be held in the coastal city Xiamen in East China's Fujian province in September.

The annual meeting brings together the leaders of the five BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The five nations, with over 40 percent of the world's population, have a combined GDP of about one-fifth of the world's total.

The five countries are busy preparing for the meeting, and a range of ministerial-level meetings are being held beforehand to prepare for the summit, says Li Jinzhang, China's ambassador to Brazil.

Brazil, which is suffering severe economic difficulties, has great expectations of strengthened cooperation with the other BRICS countries, Li says.

"New ideas will be proposed and important agreement will be reached on key issues," Li says.

"The voices of developing countries will be heard by the world" at the meeting in September in Xiamen, Li adds.

Major high-end international gatherings held by China in recent years include the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Week in Beijing in 2014 and the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in 2016.

On these occasions, President Xi Jinping introduced new proposals and concepts aimed at improving global governance and realizing sustainable growth and common development.

Open and inclusive

The two events are being held while the global economy remains sluggish and there is rising trade protectionism, diplomats and experts say, and many countries are looking to China for leadership as well as practical cooperation.

"While some countries are shifting their focus to domestic development, it is China that is ushering in new dynamics for international cooperation," says Zhang Yunling, a senior researcher on Asia-Pacific studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Zhang says that while other countries are looking to protectionism, the multilateral mechanisms promoted by China, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, "all embrace openness".

"China is an advocate of openness when the trends of anti-globalization and protectionism are prevailing," Zhang says.

Shi Mingde, China's ambassador to Germany, says: "The world is in desperate need of cross-regional cooperation that has a bigger spread, a greater standard and is of a higher level. That's why China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013."

The initiative is a key public good for boosting international cooperation and global governance offered by China to the global community, says Shi, who points out that many countries are facing demanding situations regarding their structural reform and development amid the sluggish global economy.

"The initiative will forge a close and strong link between the dynamic economies in Asia and the developed economies in Europe," Shi adds.

Strong impetus

China contributed to sustaining economic globalization by successfully hosting the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, and the two events it is hosting this year will not only be good for China, but also for the rest of the world, says Zhai Jun, China's ambassador to France.

Zhai says that by promoting further integration between China and the world, the Belt and Road forum and the BRICS leaders' summit can provide strong impetus for China's future development, which will in turn benefit the world.

"In the coming five years, China will import commodities worth $8 trillion in total and attract foreign investment of $600 billion," Zhai says.

"Also, Chinese investment overseas is expected to be $750 billion (706 billion euros; 614 billion) over the next five years and there will be 700 million trips abroad by Chinese citizens," Zhai says.

Zhang Yunling, the CASS researcher, also notes that the Chinese economy itself is undergoing a critical phase in which the country is restructuring its economy, and pursuing further reform and opening-up that "benefits both itself and other nations".

"China could gear up the transformation of its economy through improved cooperation with other countries," Zhang says.

Aside from the two events to be held in China, other gatherings - including the APEC meetings in Vietnam and G20 Summit in Germany - will also provide opportunities for countries to cooperate on global governance.

Germany this year takes over the rotating chairmanship from China and will host this year's G20 Summit and related lower-level meetings.

"We expect to maintain close contact and cooperation with the German side to offer new ideas for boosting global governance, introduce new opportunities, and send signals of cooperation, openness, peace and win-win results," says Shi Mingde, the Chinese ambassador to Germany.

New role

Cui Liru, a senior researcher and former president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, noted that China has been proactive in hosting international meetings in recent years, and its home-field diplomacy "is a significant platform for presenting China's new role and its new capabilities".

"The two major events this year will yield greater outcomes than the past meetings, because the country has been consistently learning, accumulating experience and improving, and its foresight is being reinforced," Cui says.

The concepts proposed by China in recent years have shown it to be a quick learner in aligning with accepted international norms and codes, and have highlighted its growing maturity, Cui adds.

Wu Enyuan, a senior researcher on Russian studies at CASS, noted that treating other countries on an equal footing is one of the reasons China has been successful in winning support for its proposals and initiatives from an increasing number of countries.

"The concepts first proposed by President Xi, including the Belt and Road Initiative and a Community of Shared Destiny for All Mankind, are popular in many developing countries partly because they welcome China treating them in a way that would have been unthinkable during the colonial era," Wu says.

While political alignment and security alliances prevail on the world stage, the Chinese proposals "do not categorize or judge countries by political systems or ideologies", Wu says.

Wu cites the wide range of organizations and institutions proposed by China in recent years, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

"Such Chinese proposals are based on reality, they are not coming from nowhere, and they meet the actual needs of countries. That's why few countries have said 'no' to the concepts and most have signed up for them," Wu adds.

But Cui, the scholar with China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, cautions that China should strike a balance between being a developing country, albeit the largest, and its greater responsibilities in global affairs.

"China is taking on a new role. It has entered the new role in a short period of time, it will take time for it to adapt to the new situation."

US
Source: www.wilsoncenter.org

Are we witnessing seismic shifts in the Russia-India-China triangle? It would seem so—but the shifts are long in the making.

Historically, Indo-Russian relations have been far stronger than Sino-Russian relations. In recent years, however, and especially since the onset of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014, the dynamics of this "strategic triangle," as former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov called it, have changed. Despite a shared history of strong bilateral relations and overlapping multilateral memberships, India and Russia are drifting apart. The flurry of agreements signed in October 2016 notwithstanding, defense ties are weakening, and economic relations have failed to meet targets.

More important, each country now worries about the other's relationship with its main strategic competitor—India is anxious about tight Russo-China relations, and Russia is concerned about the recent uptick in Indo-U.S. relations. Indeed, despite a good working relationship between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, relations between Russia and India have been deprioritized in both capitals. While this deprioritization has significance on multiple levels, the concern here is the implications of weaker bilateral ties for Indo-Russian cooperation toward reforming the global order.

Since 2006, the main locus of Russo-Indian cooperation toward reforming global order has been the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and (since 2011) South Africa. The BRICS group of nations has been most active in the area of global economic governance, but it boasts a sprawling set of working groups and a stated aim of entirely reforming the global order. For Russia, India and China are the most important partners in the group, and their importance grows directly out of Primakov's strategic triangle.

For Russia, BRICS continues to be a useful vehicle for challenging American dominance in the global system.

Cooperation in the BRICS has always been circumscribed by profound differences among its members. These include not only different positions in discrete international institutions that dictate different approaches but also variance in larger strategic goals. For Russia, BRICS has always been about politics, and has in many ways been a prime tool in Russian efforts—both rhetorical and otherwise—to balance against U.S. hegemony in the global system. India, while certainly in possession of a strong strain of anti-Westernism in its own foreign policy, has nevertheless viewed BRICS primarily in terms of geoeconomics and India's ongoing efforts to increase its voice in prime organs of global governance. Countering U.S. supremacy as such is, for India, a useful side benefit of BRICS rather than the group's main purpose.

But these differences and misalignments did not prevent India and Russia from cooperating within BRICS to act as a forceful lobbying subgroup of the G20 during the acute phase of the 2008 global financial crisis. They also did not block BRICS' agreement to open its own development bank and a currency pool in 2014. Indeed, the crosscutting and conflicting interests among all the members of the BRICS group are one reason its effective cooperation on some issues (narrow though that may be) is notable. Members' differing views on the global governance endgame should be understood as nothing new in considering the future of the BRICS project, or in considering the value Russia and India each see in the group.

What has changed is the calculus Russia and India each bring to their interactions within the BRICS. The issue on both counts is China, and more specifically how Sino-Russian and Sino-Indian relations have an impact on coordination among the BRICS group of countries. The major turning point was 2014, the year that marked the Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine, and Modi's election in India. These watershed moments led to dramatic changes in U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Indian relations and changed priorities within the Russia-India-China trilateral grouping.

The crisis in Ukraine and its effect on relations with the Euro-Atlantic community (especially U.S.-Russian relations) left Russia with few strategic options beyond turning to China. While the Kremlin had been attempting to build political and economic ties with China for over a decade, it was only after 2014 that these efforts began to translate into not only somewhat stronger economic links but a strategic reorientation as well. The Sino-Russian relationship is neither uncomplicated nor unlimited in possibility, but it serves both countries' strategic interests to deepen cooperation and coordinate positions on some global issues. While Russia's longstanding concerns about Chinese dominance in their shared neighborhood, Chinese influence in the Russian Far East, and the imbalances in the makeup of bilateral trade have not disappeared, they have eased or been overtaken by more pressing concerns.[1] Further, close relations with India would in no way address any of those problems.

Indeed, despite a good working relationship between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, relations between Russia and India have been deprioritized in both capitals.

Indian foreign policy has also made notable shifts since 2014, but in the opposite direction. Since the Modi government came to power, relations between India and China have been on a downward trend, while relations with the United States have reached almost unprecedented levels of cooperation. In a recent article in International Affairs, Harsh Pant and Yogesh Joshi attribute the uptick to Modi's emphasis on economic development and the concordant need for advanced technology and foreign investment, Modi's strong domestic support, and changes to India's structural environment, particularly reflecting concerns about a more aggressive China. Strong relations with Russia have historically been a hedge against the third concern, and steady defense ties—including the import of some of Russia's most advanced weapons—have somewhat addressed the first issue. In a world where Russia is increasingly close to China (including selling China advanced weapons systems), however, India can no longer be sure that Russia is solidly in its corner.

These issues have implications for how both Russia and India approach their membership in BRICS.

For Russia, BRICS continues to be a useful vehicle for challenging American dominance in the global system. It also provides valuable optics of partnership in the face of Western efforts to isolate the country during the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. China is the most important piece of that challenge, however, and with strong Sino-Russian relations assured for the near term, Russia may find it less useful to invest in BRICS. Russia is also shifting focus to its project to build a "Greater Eurasia," (also known as the Eurasian Comprehensive Partnership).

For India, BRICS continues to be a useful lobbying group for making global governance more representative, but strong Sino-Russian relations make it less certain that India's voice will be heard as clearly during intragroup discussions. Further, to the extent that one motivation for Indian participation in BRICS is embedding China into a multilateral grouping in hopes that this exerts some influence on Chinese behavior, that bet seems much less sure without Russia pushing for the same objective. This compounds Indian frustration that, with proposals such as the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank and One Belt One Road, China is already acting outside the BRICS framework and violating core BRICS principles. (Some in China, however, feel the opposite, and worry that Indo-Russian synchrony complicates Chinese objectives in BRICS.)

During his opening address to the Raisina Dialogue in Delhi in January 2017, Prime Minister Modi called Russia "an abiding friend." This is true: Russia remains one of two countries with which India holds an annual, institutionalized summit, and both countries rhetorically endorse the importance of the relationship. Below the surface, however, changes in priorities in both countries have upended the balance in the Russia-India-China triangle and put Russia's growing partnership with China at odds with the increasingly close Indo-American relations. Indeed, the fundamental problem plaguing Russo-Indian relations is that each country has more to gain from close relations with the other's strategic adversary than with its own longstanding partner.

The opinions expressed here are soley those of the author.

[1] Russia exports primarily raw materials to China and imported primarily finished manufactured goods. The main exception is arms sales.

INDIA
Source: Ministry of External Affairs of India

H.E. Mr Yuri Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation for the Far Eastern Federal District is leading a high-level delegation visit to India from 15-18 March, 2017. The delegation includes Governors from the Regions of the Russian Far Eastern Federal District, senior government officials and Russian industry representatives.

During his visit to Mumbai from March 15-16, 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Trutnev met prominent industry representatives, paid a visit to the Special Notified Zone for diamond trading and attended a business event which provided him an opportunity to interact with Indian businessmen interested in exploring engagement with Russia's Far-East Region.

On March 17, 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Trutnev held a meeting with Hon'ble External Affairs Minister in New Delhi. During the talks, both leaders discussed issues related to further strengthening of trade & investment cooperation between India and the regions of the Russian Far East. Thereafter, he addressed a business event which concluded with the signing of an MoU between Invest India and the Far East Investment and Export Agency. This was followed by an interaction with the media.

The visit is primarily aimed at spreading awareness amongst the Indian business community regarding the opportunities for investment available in the resource-rich Far-Eastern Region of Russia. Given the considerable economic potential and our willingness for greater interaction with this Region, the visit has enabled further consolidation of bilateral cooperation in the areas of mining, diamond processing, infrastructure (ports etc), agriculture and agro-processing.

INDIA
Author: Himani Pant
Source: ORF

It is oft repeated that India and Russia share special and time-tested ties. In April 1947, even before it gained independence from colonial rule, India established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Both states shared great camaraderie during the Cold War period, culminating in a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation in 1971. Despite a drift during the tumultuous 1990s, India and the post-Soviet Russian Federation managed to maintain close ties due to a convergence of global and regional interests.

However, even though both countries remain close, realpolitik in recent times has induced them to pursue closer relations with each other's geopolitical rivals. Russia has cultivated closer ties with China and Pakistan while India has strengthened relations with the United States. As a result, an inevitable drift between the two traditional partners is evident, though not strong enough for complete disengagement, given their amicable history and mutual interest in balancing China's growth in Asia.

Russia announced its turn to the East in 2010. This shift, in essence, was focused towards China and gained further momentum following the Ukraine crisis in 2014. This had both a political and economic angle. Politically, Russia has appreciated Chinese support, or at least passive acquiescence, to its positions in Ukraine and even Syria, as evidenced by China's support of a Russian veto against the Assad regime in Syria last month. Economically, China is now Russia's largest trading partner, and the two have signed a 30-year agreement worth $400 billion (USD) under which Russia will supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The eastern route of the Siberian pipeline is already under constructionand is expected to be operational by 2018.

Commercial and strategic interests explain Russia's interest in South Asia, including its entente with Pakistan. Pakistan is an important country for Russia especially when the former's economy is facing a crisis because of the dual impact of low oil prices and Ukraine-related sanctions. Owing to its geographical location, Pakistan is strategically important for Russia. The country is close to Central Asia, China and West Asia, making Pakistan crucial for Russia to gain a foothold in Asia.

Russia and Pakistan have taken concrete actions to cement their warming relations. Russia removed its arms embargo against Islamabad in 2014 and made a deal to sell Pakistan four Mi-35M helicopters the following year. Russia also invited Islamabad to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), even as it simultaneously pushed for Indian membership in the organization. In 2016, both countries performed joint military exercises despite India's concerns following the Uri attack. Recently, Russia has also reportedly shown interest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which links western China with the Gwadar port in Pakistan.

While Russia's overall engagement with Pakistan is less than with India, it is evident that Russia has shifted away from defining its relations with Pakistan based upon its relations with India. The skepticism in New Delhi increased particularly after Russia decided to go ahead with its first joint military exercises with Pakistan, not long after the Uri episode. In addition, Russia, China, and Pakistan, in their trilateral meet in December last year to discuss developments in Afghanistan, left out both India and Afghanistan. Their "flexible approach" to lift sanctions against select Taliban leaders especially did not go down well with India since it is opposed to distinguishing between good and bad Taliban.While a six-party meet including the original three and India, Afghanistan, and Iran was held in February this year, Russia's preference in dealing with Pakistan along with China has been all too visible. The evolving Russia-Pakistan relationship has thus raised concerns in New Delhi about the future course of Russia's foreign policy.

While India is concerned with Russia's closer relations with China and Pakistan, Russia appears to be equally concerned with India's closer relationship with the United States. Creating competition for Russia, the United States has emerged as a major supplier to India, especially after the nuclear rapprochement. Defense trade between India and the United States has gone up to $15 billion, and India has been given the status of a major defense partner of the United States, which would likely enable it to purchase more high-end and sensitive American technologies.

The two sides also signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which will strengthen military ties between India and the United States by allowing each country to access each other's military facilities for fueling and other logistical functions. More than anything, the agreement carries symbolic value. Though India practices strategic autonomy, the agreement is reflective of a greater synergy between the two in developing their strategic partnership. This has inevitably unsettled Russia, India's traditional defense partner. Being that it has played a central role in South Asia for decades, Moscow naturally feels more inclined to pursue closer relations with Pakistan in order to remind India of its presence.

Finally, it is interesting to note that although political relations between India and Russia remain strong, the economic relationship is weak. Because India is energy-deficient and Russia has an energy surplus, the two have a mutual interest in energy trade. However, despite this evident compatibility, Indo-Russian trade and economic linkages remain minimal. Although the two states aimed to achieve $20 billion in trade by 2015, bilateral trade only totaled $7.83 billion in 2015. Russia comprised just one percent of India's total trade, while India made up only 1.2 percent of Russia's overall trade in 2015-2016. As mentioned before, the defense relationship has seen a decline as well, with India diversifying its arms imports from new suppliers like the United States, although Russia still remains India's largest supplier.

In sum, realpolitik dominates India-Russia relations despite their mutual foreign policy priorities and cooperation in regional organizations like BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Russia has pursued deeper ties with China and Pakistan while India has bolstered ties with the United States. It will be important to observe how these moves will affect relations between the two in the coming decades. The economic sphere is a region where Russia and India can possibly strengthen their ties. Although political relations between the two countries currently seem to outweigh the minimal economic relationship, future expansion of the relationship between the two countries may depend on figuring out how to increase economic cooperation in this age of global connectivity.

INDIA
Source: Ministry of External Affairs of India

Taking forward the spirit of the Goa Declaration at the 8th BRICS Summit , outcomes of the meetings of BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers held on 9 June 2016 in Geneva and on 27-28 September 2016 in New Delhi, India and Brazil today initialed the text of the Social Security Agreement in Brasilia.

As per the agreed text, detached workers of the two countries are exempted from making social security contributions in either countries so long as they were making such contributions in their respective countries.

The text establishes the rights and obligations of nationals of both countries and provides for equal treatment of the nationals of both countries and unrestricted payment of pensions even in the case of residence in the other contracting state (benefits export principle).

The requirements to be entitled to a pension can be met by aggregating the periods of insurance completed in India and Brazil, whereby each country pays only the pension for the insurance periods covered by its laws.

As on date, India has signed and operationalized Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with 18 countries - Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and South Korea.

The SSA between India and Brazil once brought into force after completion of the ratification process in the respective counties will favorably impact the profitability and competitive position of Indian and Brazilian companies with foreign operations in either countries by reducing their cost of doing business abroad. The SSA will also help promote more investment flows between the two countries.

The SSA between India and Brazil once in force by early 2018 will also be the first such agreement between the BRICS countries.

The Indian delegation was led by K. Nagaraj Naidu, Joint Secretary (Economic Diplomacy) of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and the Brazilian delegation was led by Mr. Benedito A. Brunca, Secretary (Social Security Policies), Ministry of Finance, Government of Brazil.

UNITED KINGDOM
Source: www.eureporter.co

BRICS members should launch more outreach dialogue to benefit more parties with their co-operation, foster a "BRICS+" model of open co-operation, and set up a more broad-based South-South co-operation platform for the common development of emerging market economies and developing countries, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said recently as he expressed China's expectations towards the bloc, writes Zhao Cheng from People's Daily.

Yang made the remarks at the First Sherpa Meeting of the 9^th BRICS Summit in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on 23 February.

"The 2017 BRICS Summit will be held from September 3-5 in Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province," the councilor declared to the world at the meeting. The theme of this year's event will be 'BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future'.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the 8^th BRICS summit held in 2016 in the Indian city of Goa, urged BRICS members to build "a community of common actions", saying that the five countries not only share common interests, but also must step forward hand in hand.

Xi's proposals made clear the goal and direction for cooperation among BRICS countries, and delivered China's resolution to push BRICS countries for progress and a bigger role in global affairs.

The just-concluded Sherpa Meeting charted the course and depicted the road map for BRICS co-operation, laying a foundation for the preparation work of the Xiamen Summit.

Yang also clarified the priorities in preparations for the Xiamen Summit, urging BRICS members to enhance unity and coordination in improving global governance, deepen practical cooperation for win-win results, increase people-to-people exchanges to win greater popular support for BRICS co-operation, and strengthen institution building and improve co-operation platforms.

The New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement are known as two important carriers for practical co-operation among BRICS countries.

In future, the five BRICS countries are expected to continue to tap potential for cooperation,identify more converging interests in areas such as trade and investment, liberalization and facilitation, e-commerce, financial market connectivity, innovation-driven development, and carry out more result-oriented cooperation programs that can deliver economic and social benefits.

The BRICS grouping includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The BRICS cooperative mechanism was established in 2006.

CHINA
Source: China Daily

SYDNEY - World renowned economist and coiner of the term "BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China)" Jim O'Neill has said China's Belt and Road Initiative could "completely transform" the global economic outlook for the better.

O'Neill, who visited Sydney last week for an economic forum, spoke to Xinhua late Monday via telephone from his office in London, praising the work of the Chinese government did for the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

The initiative demonstrates China's rapid progress in becoming the centre of the global economic sphere, the economist said.

"It's one of a number of potential additional trade developments which simply add to my view that the nature of global trade is changing dramatically, and the United States does not dominate in the same way it once did," O'Neill said.

"I think the Belt and Road Initiative has the potential to completely transform the economic outlook for those countries that lie between China and Europe, and result in all sorts of exciting things with respect to trade developments for China and many other countries."

China "dominates" global trade, O'Neill said, highlighting recent statistics out of Europe that show that China has become the trading partner of choice for many European nations.

"The most interesting statistic I've seen so far in 2017 was the release of the final German trade data for the whole of last year," O'Neill said.

"It shows that China has become Germany's number one trade partner, if you combine imports and exports, overtaking the United States and France."

One of the "realities" of this "new era" of trade is that China is not only becoming the number one partner of choice for commodity driven nations, but for nations that specialise in premium goods, and a wide range of services, O'Neill said, envisioning close cooperation with China by the United States in terms of continued and robust trade relations.

"As China goes further up the income stream, it's a really good market for the United States to export some of its best products and best businesses to." O'Neill said.

Free trade is crucial to the development of the global economy and O'Neill spoke of his own experiences in the British Parliament, highlighting the need for his native Britain to engage with trading partners around the world, and in particular, China.

"I certainly think for post-Brexit Britain, it's absolutely crucial to be trying to do improve its trade relationships with the likes of China and Asia," O'Neill said.

"I was in the government until last September, and I was in the middle of what seemed to be quite strong, successful efforts to develop the so called golden relationship' with China, and the reason why we did it was because of the potential for British trade and investment relationships with China."

But it is not just trade partnerships that the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations are focused on developing, with global governance and policy consensus crucial to ensuring the social development not only of the member nations, but those they are able to influence for the better.

O'Neill is hopeful that the nations will make even further strides towards becoming bigger influencers on the global scale, despite the understandable challenges they face when bridging cultural and political differences between their countries.

"The very fact they have emerged as a political group is a huge development, and I think in some ways they are still in their infancy," O'Neill said.

The world renowned economist firmly believes, however, that despite the relatively young stage of their partnership, the BRICS nations more than hold their own with the likes of the United States and the European Union in the geopolitical arena.

"They way they have emerged, and the whole advent of the G20 was done to bring the BRICS countries into global governance," O'Neil said.

"So they already are (at that level). I think it's pretty clear."

Looking ahead to the BRICS Summit set to be held in the city of Xiamen in September in China, O'Neill said he would be engaged with representatives to push for the nations to play a more active role in the global health agenda.

"I think they can play a really powerful leadership role there, as well as more conventional things like the state of the world, financial markets, and so on."

CHINA
Source: China Daily

The coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province will open its arms to embrace the ninth BRICS Summit to be hosted in the city this September and all preparatory work is progressing in good order, said Liang Jianyong, deputy to the National People's Congress, at the plenary meeting of the Fujian delegation to the NPC on March 6.

Xiamen is a port city for business and trade, as well as a beautiful resort for holiday visits in southeast China. It has always been a hospitable host to visitors from all around. It is now taking steady steps to prepare its urban environment and volunteers for this year's BRICS Summit, an international relations conference attended by national leaders from the five member countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

According to Liang, who is also the Party secretary of Fujian, elements showing Xiamen's unique character and the spirit of the summit are comprised in the logo of the ninth BRICS Summit, which has been published lately, including an unfurled sail, the revolving Earth, and five colors representing the five BRICS countries. Also an official website and a platform for registration have been put into use.

During China's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), trade between Xiamen and the other four BRICS nations grew by 9.7 percent, Liang stated. And in 2016