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Delegates will meet at the International Conference Centre in Durban March 26-27
The ruling African National Congress party in South Africa issued a statement Monday welcoming the heads of state and their delegations participating in the Fifth Annual BRICS Summit, expected to start tomorrow in Durban.
“The ANC believes that these gatherings are critical in redefining the collective future of the developing nations at a time when the world is constantly threatened by a possible collapse of established economies,” the statement said.
“We believe that the outcomes of the summit and the meeting of the 15 African Heads of State will be instructive on the consolidation of trade within BRICS and within the African Union and as well as consolidation of cooperation in the area of investment between these countries.”
In the meantime, South African trade unionists have welcomed the idea of a BRICS development bank, details of which are expected to be unveiled at the Summit.
But they did urge that the formation of the bank differ from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund.
The proposed Brics Bank “should… primarily be developmental in character,” the Second Brics Trade Union Forum said in a declaration in Durban on Monday.
“We envisage the Brics Development Bank solely owned by Brics, publicly funded, taking all decisions on consensus, promoting trade based on own currencies of its member countries, with a core focus on infrastructure and development in consultation and approval by all stakeholders, inclusive of the community and trade unions,” the trade unionists said in the declaration.
The declaration also argued that trade unions should be represented at the highest levels in the formation of the bank.
The BRICS Post
