The World Cup is over but Brazil will now turn its attention to banking as it hosts the sixth BRICS summit. The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will meet in the north-eastern city of Fortalez in their sixth meeting without western powers.
The summit is an annual diplomatic meeting with emerging economies around the world. In the past, little progress has been made, leading many to question if the BRICS can deliver anything better than a catchy acronym – but real progress is on the agenda this time around. The economic powerhouses hope to get the ball rolling on their long-awaited development bank and emergency fund – with initial capital of $50bn.
The development of the BRICS is seen as crucial for Russia as it struggles with visa bans and asset freezes after its annexation
of Crimea
This will be the emerging markets version of the World Bank and the IMF. It sets an implicit philosophical statement that the BRICS are dissatisfied with their role in global political and economic debate. Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian news service ITAR-TASS that he wants the emerging markets to have a stronger voice on the world stage and provide opposition to US influence on foreign policy. He said: “Any attempts to create a model of international relations where all decisions are made within a single ‘pole’ are ineffective, malfunction regularly, and are ultimately set to fail.”
The development of the BRICS is seen as crucial for Russia as it struggles with visa bans and asset freezes after its annexation of Crimea. For President Xi Jinping of China, the summit is an opportunity to gain more responsibility on the global stage. As the most prominent superpower present, China will want to demonstrate it can promote the rights of the developing world.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, economist Jim O’Neill – who coined the term “BRIC” – described the three-day summit as a “statement of intent” from nations that feel left out of global democratic discourse. He summarised their attitude as: “If you don’t include us, we’ll do our own thing.”
There is plenty to iron out before plans for a new world bank can be put in motion. Most pressing is the fact that the nations are at loggerheads over where the bank’s headquarters will be. Shanghai, New Deli and Moscow are tipped as the most likely candidates.
