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Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Brics Summit” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Brics Summit

It was on June 16, 2009 that the first ever Summit of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) was held at the Russian city of Yekaterinburg with a view to providing a new vision of global order, which is just, fair and democratic. The name ‘BRIC’ to the grouping of four countries, was suggested by financial service provider company Goldman Sachs to emphasise the rising economic weight of these countries. The gradual evolution and consolidation of BRIC in Summit form assumes significance in view of the nature, size and importance of these countries in the global political and economic spheres. Taken together, the four member countries of the BRIC hold a substantial share in the world growth and output. It is estimated that their combined output would be 40% of global. GDP by the year 2020. They together represent 40% of the global population and 25% of the global territorial area. The four members of BRIC nations currently account for 15 per cent of global economy and 42 per cent of global currency reserves. It is estimated that Russia, India and China would become the engine of world growth. While the developed Western countries are reeling under recession, it is estimated that China and India would have 6 per cent and 4 per cent GDP growth respectively in 2009. The reason for this growth amidst global recession is that these economies are not heavily dependent on export for their growth. It’s the rising internal demand which is the key factor of this growth.

Yekaterinburg Summit

Against this backdrop, the Yekaterinburg Summit was held in Russia on June 16, 2009, along with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, which adds further significance to the BRIC Summit. It was the first Summit of BRIC which was short, standalone and closed-door Summit. In this Summit, the participants were Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Russian President described the Summit as a historic event. At the end of the Summit, a 16 point joint statement was adopted.

Some of the main points of the statement are as follows :

(a) The statement demanded the reform of international financial institutions in a manner so that they may reflect the changes in global economy, While indicating the unfair western domination of Brettonwoods institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, the leaders asserted that the emerging and developing countries should have greater voice and representation in these financial institutions. They demanded that the heads and senior officials of these bodies should be appointed through an open, transparent and merit-based selection process.

(b) The four leaders also demanded a stable, diversified and predictable international monetary system. In fact, it was an indirect attack on US dollar as the primary international reserve currently whose role was questioned by Russia, China and Brazil. India argued separately that since it is a technical issue, a through examination is required before switching over to change.

(c) The statement called for the end of protectionism in trade by the leading nations. It should be noted that the G-20 Summit at London in April, 2009′ also demanded to check the protectionist tendency as a measure to the early recovery of global economy.

(d) Regarding the deadlocked Doha round of trade negotiations, the statement demanded a balanced and comprehensive conclusion of these talks. In a way, the leaders demanded that the developmental concerns of the emerging nations should be taken into account while concluding these negotiations.

(e) To ensure energy security, the leaders called for cooperation in energy sector amongst producers and consumers of energy and transit states. For ensuring the global food security, a separate declaration was adopted.

(f) The statement strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and said that there can be no justification for any act of terrorism anywhere or for whatever reasons. The resolution on terrorism was included on Indian initiative.

(g) Indirectly demanding permanent membership of security council’ for India and Brazil, the statement reiterated, the importance we attach to the status of India and Brazil in international affairs, and understand and support their aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations.

Presiding over the Summit, the Russian President Medvedev echoed the main spirit of this meet when he remarked that we want a fair world order ensuring the safety and security of our countries and people. All important decisions in global economic, security and political spheres should be taken on fairer basis. He said that the ‘fairness’ is the key word of our interaction and our efforts should be directed towards a fairer world order. He also stressed the need for interaction among four countries at other levels also such as meetings of foreign, agriculture and trade ministers and officials.

Bric And Its Backdrop

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva floated the idea of BRIC in June 2007 but it was not taken seriously by observers. The basic reason for the four countries coming together in a new grouping is their dissatisfaction with the prevailing global economic and political order largely dominated by the US and her western allies. Though these countries are emerging global economies, yet their role in global political and economic affairs is not in tune with their size and importance. When it comes to working out the future rules of global world order, it is the G-8 grouping of western countries that sets the agenda and priorities. Though Russia has become a member of G-8 group of rich nations, its role in strategic and economic affairs is not equal to its position. Thus, Russia is not satisfied with global strategic order. Russia would like the BRIC to play the role of a strategic counterweight to the NATO and the US. Similarly, China is dissatisfied due to lack of her representation in global economic decision-making. China’s aim is to use the platform of a group like BRIC to assume the role of norm setter in global economic affairs. India is also dissatisfied with the prevailing global political and economic order as its role is not commensurate in world affairs with its status and size. Like India, Brazil is also dissatisfied with its role in global economic and political order.

Thus, the dissatisfaction of all these four countries with the US dominated global order has brought them under the banner of BRIC, which holds the potential of offering an alternative vision of a new global order. The first meeting of foreign ministers of four member states was held, incidentally at Yekaterinburg in Russia in May 2008. The joint communique issued at the end of the meet emphasised the need for evolving a more democratic world order based on the international law and multilateralism, reform of international institutions, development of global economy on sustainable manner, call for promoting food and energy security, fighting terrorism and finding solutions to the acute global problems such as poverty, hunger and disease by taking into consideration the interest of all nations in the operation of global economic system.

In brief, the initial thrust of the BRIC was to restructure global political and economic order on the basis of democratic norms and multilateralism and to press for the collective solution of major global problems largely faced by developing countries. The foreign ministers of BRIC again met for the second time in Nov. 2008 and in March 2009 in the context of global financial crisis and the stabilisation process launched by G-20 countries.

These meetings abhorred the growing practice of protectionism adopted by the leading rich countries and called for reform of global financial institutions. It should be recalled here that the BRIC has concern in both strategic and economic issues which are inherent in the present global order largely dominated by the rich developed countries. It should be recalled here that its economic concerns bear some similarity with the New International Economic Order (NIEO) adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1974 at the behest of developing countries. The NIEO never came near to realisation and its possibility also receded in the background in the era of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation.

Another important point, which is worth consideration is that some scholars take the BRIC as the logical extension of RIC (Russia, India and China) another grouping of three countries, which evolved in 2002 and its first summit was held in 2006. BRIC and RIC are totally different in geographic and strategic scope. The trilateral grouping under the banner of RIC is largely concerned with the political and strategic issues of Asia. But the BRIC is concerned with the issues of global order, not confined to any geographical area. The major thrust area before the BRIC is global financial and economic order including trade, credit, capital movement, currency flow, millennium development goals and other such issues.

Issues And Expectations

In economic sphere, this move has been viewed as a beginning to challenge the western hegemony. Given the combined economic weight of the members in global economy, they are bound to influence the restructuring of global financial institutions and a fair operation of global economic order. Their combined strategy may also influence the balanced conclusion of Doha round of trade negotiations which may take into account the concerns of developing countries. Many scholars estimate that these emerging economies will be the driving force of the expected global recovery. These emerging economies are linked to the developed economies by currency and trade. However, many observers believe that the BRIC economies are unable to develope independently of rich countries because they are closely linked with one another on various fronts.

Many other large countries also have common concern with the BRIC. Thus, the BRIC is sensitive to both the reasonable concerns of developing world and the nature of western domination of global economic and political order. Therefore. the BRIC is oriented to challenge the western hegemony on the one hand and to offer an alternative vision of global order on the other. This alternative vision demands a fair, just and equitable global order, taking into account the fact that the US, G-8 and the Security Council find difficult to stablise the present global economic and political order. Therefore, the BRIC has the scope and opportunity in influencing the shape of global political and economic order. Even some optimists including the finance service company Goldman Sachs’ estimate that the BRIC countries are overtaking the west at different paces. Jim O’Niell, the chief economist of Goldman Sachs, who invented the term BRIC in 2001 has issued several forecasts that the aggregate G.D.P. of BRIC countries would exceed that of G-7 countries by the year 2027. Estimates say that within next 20 years, China’s economy will exceed the US economy.

So far as the long-term viability of BRIC is concernd, there are so many apprehensions. First, the member states of BRIC have different pace of economic growth and different structures of economy, the coordination for a common standard vision may not be viable. Also, these countries have different motives to join the BRIC, which may generate hurdles for their effective cooperation. For example, Russia and China are already the permanent members of the UNO. Would they cooperate with India and Brazil in the reformation of the UN?

Another significant point is that all the member states of BRIC have separate, close or even strategic relationship with the US, whose hegemony the BRIC is going to challenge. For example both India and China have developed close economic and strategic partnership with the USA. Are they willing to launch a collective opposition against the USA at the cost of their bilateral close relationship?

It is due to these factors, that the BRIC has to play a very complex and delicate balancing role. No doubt, the global economic and political order needs revamping to make it more inclusive and fair. Since BRIC has articulated a divergent approach to Global order, it cannot be assimilated with the G-8 which at present sets the agenda and norms of global order. India and China are attached as ‘outreach’ members to this grouping.

It is also noteworthy that the BRIC should expand its activities to the bottom level through Track II interaction at the official level focusing on the common areas of interest. such as energy and food security, fulfillment of millennium Development Goals, fighting terrorism and setting norms for using force and military intervention, opposing protectionism and balancing a conclusion of trade negotiations. These common grounds of interaction may produce a synergy required for alternative vision of global order.

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