Global political issues such as the unrest in Iraq and Ukraine and the surveillance of world leaders by the U.S. National Security Agency are likely to find their way into the discussions at the BRICS summit and be possibly reflected, along with economic issues, in the Fortaleza Declaration to be released by the leaders of the five nations on July 15, say officials.
To that end, the sixth BRICS summit is likely to pose a bigger challenge to the West than previous summits. In his reply to a questionnaire submitted by The Hindu , Brazil’s Ambassador to India Carlos Duarte said, “The BRICS have an important contribution to make towards a new architecture of international politics and economics.”
In particular, BRICS countries will announce the BRICS bank and contingency reserve fund as a counterpoint to the U.S.-led World Bank and International Monetary Fund. But that is not all. Brazil also wants to set up a challenge to currently calculated statistical indices.
“They may not share the same position on every international topic, yet they now have areas of cooperation on various subjects, from energy to education, and there are new proposals, such as a Brazilian suggestion on the creation of a statistics platform different from the OECD methodology (The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development analyses GDP, employment and other indices),” said Mr. Duarte, who is now in Fortaleza to help with the finishing touches to the declaration.
The BRICS grouping accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s land mass, 40 per cent of the world’s population, and a combined GDP of $24 trillion at PPP. Last week, Sujata Mehta, Secretary, Economic Relations, External Affairs Ministry, who is heading the Indian negotiations at the summit, told presspersons, “Given the weight of the members, given the weight of the countries involved, that the fact that we are able to meet in this configuration and take collective positions is in itself its own message.”
In the interview to The Hindu , Mr. Duarte said that Brazil hoped for “full consensus” on issues surrounding the BRICS bank, including its headquarters, the rotating presidency, and the composition of the administrative board.
Economic, trade and investment opportunities will be at the top of the agenda during the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil President Dilma Rousseff, as well in meetings with leaders of South America countries.
