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BRICS flags fly high in Durban
TBP (Durban, South Africa) – The BRICS Business Summit in Durban will be attended by close to a thousand delegates from the five countries.
Finance ministers of the five BRICS countries will be meeting today to work out the modalities of setting up the ‘BRICS Bank’.
Two pacts on BRICS Multilateral Infrastructure Co-financing Agreement for Africa and BRICS Multilateral Cooperation and Co-financing Agreement for Sustainable Development will be signed today at the meet.
Chief executives of such major Russian companies as Rosatom, Norilsk Nickel, Vnesheconombank and others have arrived from Russia to attend the forum.
A combined business delegation from India representing industry bodies like FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM are also in Durban. Indian finance minister P Chidambaram and commerce minister Anand Sharma will address the business meet.
South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe, chair of the local BRICS Business Council on Monday implored South African businesses to go beyond hosting “talk shops” as they look for opportunities in the Brics emerging economies.
Motsepe has said the opportunities created by Brics were vast.
Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin, President of the Skolkovo Foundation Viktor Vekselberg and director general of the Russian state-run corporation Rostechnologii Sergei Chemezov are named among other candidates for members of the BRICS Business Council.
Trade and commerce ministers of the five countries will also meet today to work out ways to boost intra-BRICS trade, which currently totals $230 billion.
South African representatives to the Business Council would be Business Unity South Africa CEO Nomaxabiso Majokweni, Zungu Investment executive chairman Sandile Zungu, Sekunjalo group chairman Iqbal Survé and Transnet CEO Brian Molefe. Aspen Pharmacare CEO Stavros Nicolau will serve as an alternate member.
The BRICS Business Council will provide technical support, consultative advice and facilitate the implementation of multilateral business projects among its members.
The forum will be attended by 125 delegates from China, 125 from the Russian Federation, 74 from India, 60 from Brazil and 242 from South Africa.
Other deliberations will focus on the proposed Brics Trade and Risk Development Pool which will harness the collective and reinsurance capacity as well as facilitate intra-Brics Trade and Investment.
BRICS think-tank Council (BTTC) will comprise of Institute for Applied Economic Research (JPEA) Brazil, National Committee for BRICS Research (NRC/BRICS) Russia, Observer Research Foundation, India, China Centre for Contemporary World Studies, China. The agreement for the think-tank was signed on 11th March 2013 and will be ratified today.
Claude Colart for The BRICS Post
