BRICS to discuss global growth, stability at Durban

Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) during a 2-day meeting in Durban, South Africa, will discuss ways of reviving stunted global growth and faster movement on reform of institutions of global, political and economic governance, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said before leaving for Durban today.

The prime minister is accompanied by a high-power delegation, including finance minister P Chidambaram and commerce minister Anand Sharma, will attend the summit of five nations on March 26 and 27.

The summit will also look at ways of ensuring global macroeconomic stability as well as mechanisms and measures to promote investment in infrastructure and sustainable development.

India will also urge faster movement on reform of institutions of global political and economic governance, the prime minister said in a statement ahead of his departure.

''It is important that BRICS continue to consult closely on developments affecting global peace and security,'' he said.

India, he said, will also use the opportunity to discuss matters concerning the India-Africa Forum Summit mechanism at a special retreat, with a large number of distinguished African leaders who are coming to Durban, he said.

''I look forward to the dialogue that BRICS leaders will have between themselves and, in a will reaffirm our strong and enduring commitment as a steadfast partner for inclusive development in Africa and for advancing our common interests in international forums,'' he said.

In his departure statement, the prime minister said he looked forward to meeting with the new Chinese President Xi Jinpeng to discuss how India and China can maintain the positive trajectory of relationship and further strengthen "this very important bilateral relationship".

The first BRICS summit on the African soil is expected to declare the launching of a development bank for undertaking infrastructure and development projects. While the idea of the bank, mooted by India last year during its presidency, has been supported by China, it is still not known whether the bank idea is in the summit agenda.

Manmohan Singh said he also intended to review with President Putin of Russia the progress in India-Russia relations. ''I also look forward to meeting with President Zuma of South Africa and President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, both of whom will also join us in Delhi in June for the IBSA summit,'' he said.

The prime minister said BRICS has emerged as a consequential voice in the international arena and close coordination between its members is necessary in various areas to improve the effectiveness of the forum.

Given the collective economic weight and global standing of BRICS countries, the forum represents a unique mechanism to address regional and global challenges, particularly in so far as the interests of the developing world are concerned.

As the current BRICS chair, the Prime Minister said India received the unstinted support of its partners in successfully implementing the ambitious agenda adopted at the New Delhi Summit in March last year.

"The Durban Summit gives us an opportunity to make further progress on the initiatives that we launched in Delhi to deepen intra-BRICS cooperation and fulfill our international responsibilities. I look forward to discussions on new ideas in Durban to advance our goals," he said.