Interview: BRICS Summit provides opportunity for further engagement

The 8th BRICS Summit, to be held in India, will enable members to discuss various issues such as the economic challenges and cement relations, the BRICS Business Council-India Chapter said on Wednesday.

The chairperson of the council, Onkar Kanwar, told Xinhua in a recent interview in Johannesburg that BRICS has achieved a lot since it came into being and has a great potential to do more in shaping the global architecture.

Kanwar said the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), amongst other initiatives in the last seven years, are a great achievement.

He said the upcoming summit in mid-October will further strengthen the intra-BRICS economic cooperation and the collective efforts undertaken by the member countries to advance global economic stability and prosperity in the world.

"The BRICS leaders are highly upbeat about the forthcoming Summit in Goa, India," he said.

He said various meetings have been held in the running up to the summit for policy coordination. These included the meetings at the ministerial, official, technical, business levels on different issues.

Kanwar said the BRICS Trade Fair on the sidelines of the summit will further strengthen the business cooperation among the BRICS economies.

Companies from different BRICS countries will showcase their products with the aim to make trade deals with their counterparts. South Africa has sent 30 companies to the BRICS Trade Fair.

The BRICS Summit will take place against the background of weak economic growth globally, said Kanwar.

He said the BRICS countries, while aware of the current challenges, are expected to do what they can to inject an impetus into the global economic recovery.

"While some of the constituent members may be undergoing a phase of weak economic performance, the long term growth potential of the BRICS grouping remains intact," he said.

"Today, BRICS economies account for more than one-fifth of global economic activity. With a combined nominal GDP of 16 trillion U.S. dollars, which is equivalent to about 22 percent of the gross world product. These economies are well poised to provide the much needed growth momentum for the world," Kanwar said.

This is supplemented by the BRICS population of over three billion people, accounting for about 45 percent of world population, he added.

The BRICS cooperation has also boosted the South-South cooperation, Kanwar said.

He noted that BRICS have also taken a coordinated position in several international organizations like the IMF, G-20 and WTO.

Kanwar said, "Going forward, BRICS economies will continue to play a proactive role in shaping the global discourse on growth and development. The BRICS nations have evolved significantly over the years and are playing a far more effective role in the global economy today." Endit