BRIC 2010: stress on food security and energy crisis

• The second BRIC summit in Brasilia (capital of Brazil), held in the middle of April, upheld a collective assertiveness in world economic matters that is bound to stir western leaders and bankers. The key aspects decided in the meeting were as follows:
  
  Common Vision and Global Governance:
  
  The BRIC countries proclaimed that their common vision was to deepen and broaden dialogue and cooperation of the BRIC countries, not only to serve common interests of emerging market economies and developing countries, but also to build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.
  
  Global Economy:
  
  BRIC leaders urged all countries to strengthen macroeconomic cooperation, jointly with the emerging economies to secure world economic recovery, which is still vulnerable, to achieve a strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
  
  With a confidence born of their successful role as a caucus at G-20 meetings over the past years, BRIC leaders demanded the commitment to reform the Bretton Woods financial institutions that the advanced economies made at Pittsburgh during the G-20 summit be completed by this year.
  
  The leaders noted and called for increase in capital base under the principle of fair burden-sharing of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and of the International Finance Corporation, in addition to more robust, flexible and agile client-driven support for developing economies from multilateral development banks.
  
  The G-20 members, with a significant contribution from BRIC countries, have greatly increased resources available to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “The IMF and the World Bank urgently need to address their legitimacy deficits,” the BRIC summit declaration says. “We call for the voting power reform of the World Bank to be fulfilled in the upcoming Spring Meetings, and expect the quota reform of the IMF to be concluded by the G-20 Summit in November this year.”
  
  The summit also called for improving national financial regulations and to push for the reform of the international financial regulatory system and to work closely with international standard setting bodies, including the Financial Stability Board.
  
  International Trade:
  They stressed the importance of the multilateral trading system, embodied in the World Trade Organisation, for providing an open, stable, equitable and non discriminatory approach to enhance International Trade.
  
  Agriculture:
  In the agricultural sector, ways of quadripartite cooperation, with particular attention to family farming were discussed with the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture. This, they hope, will contribute towards global food production and food security. BRIC would develop a strategy for ensuring access to food for vulnerable population, to reduce the negative impact of climate change on food security, and to enhance agriculture technology cooperation and innovation, based on that.
  
  Energy:
  In the energy sector, the countries would aim to develop cleaner, more affordable and sustainable energy systems, to promote access to energy and energy efficient technologies and practices in all sectors. Apart from that, they would also encourage more efficient use of fossil and bio fuels. In this regard, they would reiterate their support to the international cooperation in the field of energy efficiency.
  
  Copyright@Business Economics page 10 may 1-15 2010