BRICS 2017: Focus and Issues that will be discussed

BRICS Summit 2017

BRICS Summit 2017

The 9th annual BRICS summit will be held in the Chinese city of Xiamen from September 3 to 5. The leaders of the five BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – will meet at the summit and will discuss a number of issues. Though India and China have recently resolved the two-month long stand-off at Doklam but it is expected that the issue will not be raised at the summit by the Indian PM Narendra Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, a bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the margins of the summit has not been ruled out.

What is BRICS?

Brics is an acronym for the five above mentioned emerging economies. Earlier there were only four BRIC nations but with the addition of South Africa in 2010, it came to be known as BRICS. The term was coined by Jim O’Neill in 2001. At that time, O’Neill was the chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The basic idea behind clubbing the four nations, which became five in 2010, in one single group was that these nations are all leading developing countries comprising robust economies. These nations are a part of the G-20, which an international forum for central bank governors and governments from 20 leading economies, and exert an important influence on regional affairs.

It is estimate that the five BRICS members comprise around 40 percent of the world population. The combined nominal GDP of all the five nations put together stands at a staggering US$16.6 trillion. This is around 22 percent of the gross world product.

Where is BRICS 2017 going to be held?

China is the host of the 2017 BRICS Summit. The summit is being held in Xiamen, which is located in southeastern Fujian province. The summit is annually hosted by one BRICS member. The first summit was held on 16 June 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Thereafter seven more summits were held in Brasilia, Brazil; Sanya, China; New Delhi, India; Durban, South Africa; Fortaleza, Brazil; Ufa, Russia; and Benaulim (Goa), India. The 2017 BRICS summit will be the 9th annual summit.

BRICS-Summits

What will be discussed at BRICS summit?

The theme of the summit is “Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future”. Some of the topics that will be discussed at BRICS summit are political and security cooperation, peope-to-people exchanges, economic collaboration etc. Issues such as climate change and renewable energy are also expected to be discussed. An important topic to be discussed at BRICS this year is the expansion of the summit by including new members. This year, China has invited leaders from Tajikistan, Egypt, Thailand, Mexico, and Guinea to be a part of the summit.

What issues will India focus on?

As mentioned, it is highly unlikely that Modi and Xi Jinping the two leaders will talk about the Doklam border issue. However, there is a possibility that the two leaders may meet on the margins of the summit on Monday. But, it is expected that India will strongly raise its concerns regarding terrorism. India, which had hosted the 2016 BRICS Summit, had in that particular summit too raised the terrorism issue and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had even called Pakistan as the mothership of terrorism worldwide. Meanwhile, China is opposed to India raising the issue of terrorism at 2017 BRICS summit saying that it is not an appropriate topic to be discussed at the summit. Meanwhile, Raveesh Kumar, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, has commented that leaders are to free to speak what they want to at the summit. He has stated that it is a joint declaration that is prepared on the basis of consensus.