The role of BRIC – Brazil, Russia, India and China – is becoming more crucial in the international decision-making on global economic issues in an environment of global turmoil as world is shifting now on the cusp of a new multi-polarity, said Foreign Secretary of India, Shiv Shankar Menon Wednesday on the inauguration of the ‘Pre-BRIC Summit Preparatory Meeting’ in New Delhi.
Addressing a two-day preparatory meeting of the pre-BRIC Summit organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a New Delhi based think tank, Menon said that he believed the role of BRIC countries in the global economy would increase further and further.
“It is becoming clearer and clearer that international decision-making on global economic issues must necessarily be democratized to reflect present realities,” he said.
The first BRIC summit is going to be held on Yekaterinburg, Russia in June and the delegates of BRIC nations have gathered here for pre-exercise of the meeting.
“As the global economy evolves and works its way through the present global financial and economic crisis, BRIC are a factor of stability and growth. This was already evident in our role during the G20 deliberations,” added Menon.
Underlining the indication of shifting the power Menon said, “Existing power holders are always reluctant to share or lose power. This fact alone, therefore, shows that an unavoidable shift in the balance of economic power is underway, and that the international role of the BRIC countries will increase further.”
“The shift we are witnessing is probably towards a flatter distribution of power in the world, and this shift is hastened by the geopolitical consequences of the global economic crisis,” he added.
Stressing on the importance of BRIC nations in the global meltdown, Menon said, “Unlike previous financial crises which were handled within the closed shop of the G-7 industrialized countries, this crisis is sought to be addressed in the G-20 which includes all the BRIC countries.”
He emphasized on the need of extra efforts to add value to their partnership and make their collective voice to be heard on important international issues.
“BRIC is a platform for four countries to build consensus and achieve win-win situation. Like any countries, four countries may have differences in their focus, objectives and even interests on various issues,” said Chinese counterpart Zhang Yan, suggesting that BRIC nations should join together to fight the global economic crisis with interesting and innovative ideas.
“BRIC countries account for 40 per cent of the world population and 37 per cent of the GDP. If we work together, we can make a change in the world order,” said M Rasgotra, president of ORF Centre for International Relations in the preparatory meeting.
Brazilian Deputy Chief of Mission, Jose Carlos Fonseca Jr. advocated the need of the four countries to strengthen their bilateral relationships to enable them to be more effective jointly on the international stage.
Besides discussing on strengthening the power of BRIC nations, the delegates also discussed on other aspect like ‘Institutionalizing the BRICs Engagement’, ‘BRICS: The Global Financial Crisis and the New Global Financial Architecture’, ‘Energy Security and Climate Change” and “Cooperation in Trade and Industry’.
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