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BRIC summit took place in Brazil

On Friday, the BRIC summit was held in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, in which Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took part as part of his tour to Latin America. This year, the meeting of the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China had to be shortened to one day due to the devastating earthquake that occurred in China. The Russian head of state arrived at the meeting a little earlier than other summit participants and took this opportunity to have a brief conversation with the forum's host, Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva. Later, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as well as Chinese President Hu Jintao, went to the Rui Barbosa Hall of the Itamarathi Palace, where the meeting of the four began.

Due to the packed schedule of the summit, the agenda turned out to be extremely busy. In one day, the BRIC countries managed to agree on many issues. One of the central topics of the meeting was the possibility of using national currencies in mutual trade between countries. The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China agreed to thoroughly study this issue and consolidated the corresponding agreement in a joint statement adopted at the end of the summit. The BRIC leaders said they would "explore monetary cooperation, including arrangements for the use of national currencies in trade" between the four countries to facilitate trade and investment.

An equally important topic of the forum was the discussion of the consequences of the global financial crisis. In this regard, the heads of Brazil, Russia, India and China noted the central role of the G20 in combating the consequences of the crisis through an unprecedented level of concerted efforts. “Compared to previous associations, the G20 is broader, more comprehensive, more diverse, more representative and more effective,” the document says.

In addition, the summit discussed the development of international trade, including the direct role of the WTO. In this regard, Brazil, India and China expressed strong support for Russia's accession to this international organization.

The heads of the four countries did not ignore the recent terrorist attacks in Russia and India. “Condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, the BRIC countries intend to continue the fight against its manifestations,” the countries said in a joint statement. In addition, Brazilian President Lula da Silva personally expressed solidarity with the people of Russia and India, where acts of terrorism occurred, and also expressed condolences to the people of China who suffered from a devastating earthquake, and expressed solidarity with the Brazilians who recently experienced severe flooding.

President Dmitry Medvedev was pleased with the results of the summit. “The BRIC format is becoming full-fledged, allowing us not only to coordinate our efforts, but also to make very specific decisions,” the Russian head of state said at a press conference following the second BRIC summit. According to the Russian leader, the negotiations confirmed that cooperation within this format is developing in all areas.

At the end of the meeting, it became known that the next BRIC summit will be held in China. “My colleagues unanimously supported China as the venue for the third meeting of BRIC leaders,” said Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Ivan GORDEEV