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Crisis gives BRICS prominence: Azevedo
July 18, 2013, 11:40 am

[BRICS5]

The new director general said BRICS countries need to talk more to each other [BRICS5]

The 2008 global financial crisis has given BRICS economies greater prominence on the world stage, says World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General-elect Roberto Azevedo.

Emerging countries are “one of the main focal points of the global scenario,” he said, adding that their development policies are being watched carefully.

BRICS countries need to make their participation in multilateral organisations a state policy, said Azevedo at a seminar on development in Brasilia.

Azevedo faces the challenge of re-infusing life into the WTO’s stalled Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks.

The ninth WTO ministerial conference will take place in December in Bali.

At the conference, the WTO aims to introduce new rules to promote food security and concessions for poorer countries.

The 2008 financial crisis increased the responsibilities of BRICS countries for development and cooperation with other emerging nations, added Azevedo.

Brazilian-born Azevedo was elected to lead the WTO in May and will take over from Pascal Lamy in September.

Azevedo has called for increased BRICS cooperation as they are not yet mature enough to “act in an agile and rapid manner in all global governance fora”.

The new WTO chief stressed that his country’s relations with other developing nations are much more important now than they were in 2008 when the crisis started.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said in June that the appointments of Jose Graziano as head of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and Roberto Azevedo were triumphs for the BRICS bloc over traditional western economic powerhouses.

Source: Agencies