BRIC will become BRICS officially this week
HAINAN: On Tuesday Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh reached on the Chinese island of Hainan for the third BRICS summit to see what “contribution” the five-nation grouping can make in “sustaining” the global economic recovery.
BRICS began. BRICS – the capital S will be formally added this week as South Africa joins the original lineup of Brazil, Russia, India and China – has proven more constructive than was originally expected.
The five governments have been able to work coherently within the Group of Twenty, the UN Security Council and specialized multilateral bodies dealing with topics like climate change.
PM said, “Our experience of working with each other in these forums has been positive and holds promise.”
“This has gone much beyond the original report,” said a source, noting its agenda included restructuring the global financial architecture. “This sort of stuff Goldman Sachs never thought of.”
The real BRIC members came together recent on something as political as the Security Council vote on Libya. Thus South Africa may end the “trillion dollar club” label that BRIC once carried, but it brings in a needed African representation.
An effusive Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said BRICS was a “new fulcrum of global stability.” In time, he said with confidence, BRICS would overtake the Group of Eight in global clout.
Indian officials, who have shaken off their initial skepticism about such a strange beast, now speak of BRICS “consolidating” a role in the world.
Manvir Sngh, the Foreign Ministry’s Secretary (Economic Relations) in New Delhi on Monday said, “This is functioning very well so far.”
