Modi-Sharif meet in Russia is good step, says J&K CM

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will hold bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the SCO summit at Ufa, Russian Federation on Friday (July 10).

President Rouhani arrived in Ufa late on Wednesday to attend the summits of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on his two-day visit to Russia.

“I will propose an annual Brics trade fair”.

China and India should make joint efforts to push forward the development of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor, said Xi.

Russia President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday the creation of a BRICS university, during the summit of the bloc underway in the Russian city of Ufa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the potential for cooperation among emerging markets remained significant despite the challenges facing the global economy.

But continuing firings on the border, which claimed the lives of security personnel, and the Pakistani envoy hobnobbing with Kashmiri separatists last August saw India calling off foreign secretary-level talks at the last moment.

“We are concerned about the instability of the markets, the high volatility of energy and commodity prices, and the accumulation of sovereign debt by a number of countries”, Putin said.

Later, at the Plenary session, Modi pitched for closer cooperation and coordination among BRICS nations and proposed a 10-point initiative to further the engagement.

The bank, which was officially launched Tuesday, will start funding proposals early next year, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

The BRICS account for a fifth of the world’s economic output and 40 percent of its population.

“Naturally, the situation in the Eurozone will be discussed, the trigger for which is the problem of Greek debt, because the development of the situation in the Eurozone creates risks for all the participants in BRICS”, he said, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency.

Mr Kamath said that the NDB should not be viewed as a tool to help sanctions-hit companies but said the bank will look at requests from Russian companies. She added that several other documents will be adopted to regulate the operation of governing bodies – the Governing Council and the Standing Committee.