BRICS vow to coordinate actions to protect their economies

The BRICS emerging nations are anxious about the volatility of financial markets and oil prices, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

“As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council China always deals with the 1267 committee matters based on facts and in the spirit of objectiveness and fairness”, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Thursday.

Mr Modi also spoke about BRICS cooperation in tackling the issues of urbanisation, migration, women empowerment and water management.

The five countries, which are located in four continents respectively and sit on both the northern and southern hemispheres, should also implement the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy and dig new cooperation highlights, he added.

The bank, which is to start lending no earlier than next year, is to have $50 billion in starting capital which will be doubled within the next few years and focus mainly on issuing debt for infrastructure projects.

She said from 2017 onwards, “the BRICS calendar is going to match the annual calendar and India will chair the BRICS for 11 months”.

Leaders from all BRICS member nations are meeting in Ufa as they prepare to launch a development bank.

Modi pointed out that Brics countries together form 44 per cent of the world population, contributing 40 per cent to the global gross domestic product and 18 per cent to the world trade. “The sides defined priority spheres of their interaction, such as politics, security, the economy, cross-border and interregional ties, the humanitarian sphere and global affairs”, the Russian leader said.

“I hope the member countries will be able to take benefit of financing arrangements and BRICS arrangement for export credit insurance and innovation”, he said.

China will make the biggest contribution to the pool: $41 billion. Pakistan, however, is not hopeful of any major breakthrough given the track record of the Modi administration, said another official. He said with Chinese collaboration, Pakistan was building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as an important part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visionary initiative of “One Road and One Belt” and a ‘community of shared destiny.’.