1st BRIC summit

The inaugural BRIC summit took place in Yekaterinburg, Russia on June 16, 2009.[1] The four heads of government from the BRIC countries attended.[2]

1st BRIC Summit
I саммит БРИК
official logo
Host countryRussia
Dates16 June 2009
CitiesYekaterinburg
ParticipantsBRICS
Precedes2nd BRIC summit

Overview

The acronym BRIC (for Brazil, Russia, India, China) was first used in a Goldman Sachs thesis projecting that the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India and China is such that they may become among the five most dominant economies by the year 2050.[3] Today, the four countries produce about 15 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and hold about 40 percent of the gold and hard currency reserves.[4]

Political dialogue between the BRIC countries began in New York in September 2006, with a meeting of the BRIC foreign ministers. Four high-level meetings have followed, including a full-scale meeting in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on May 16, 2008.[5]

Participants
Leaders at the 1st BRIC summit. From left are: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil; President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia; President Hu Jintao of China, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India.

The heads of state and heads of government of the four countries participated.

Core BRIC members
Host state and leader are shown in bold text.
Member Represented by Title
Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva President
Russia Dmitry Medvedev President
India Manmohan Singh Prime Minister
China Hu Jintao President

Issues

The leaders discussed the current global financial crisis, global development, and further strengthening of the BRIC group.[6]

World economy

The BRIC leaders called for increased economic reform, demanding a "greater voice and representation in international financial institutions, and their heads and senior leadership should be appointed through an open, transparent and merit-based selection process." [6]

They urged the international community to push for comprehensive results of the Doha Round.[6]

Political issues

Amongst the important issues discussed were United Nations reform. "We reiterate the importance we attach to the status of India and Brazil in international affairs, and understand and support their aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations."[6]

Food crisis

Regarding the 2007–2008 world food price crisis, the leaders issued a joint statement on global food security, calling for "action by all governments and the relevant international agencies"; and reaffirmed "their commitment to contribute to the efforts to overcome the global food crisis".[7]

References
  1. First BRIC summit concludes Deutsche Welle. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. Archived 2009-06-19.
  2. Developing world leaders show new power at summits Reuters. Retrieved on 2009-06-16.
  3. "Goldman Sachs: The BRICs Dream: Web Tour". Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  4. Emerging Economies Meet in Russia The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-06-16.
  5. Cooperation within BRIC Kremlin.ru. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. Archived 2009-06-19.
  6. Joint Statement of the BRIC Countries’ Leaders Kremlin.ru. Retrieved on 2009-06-17. Archived 2009-06-20.
  7. BRIC's Joint Statement on Global Food Security Archived 2009-06-22 at the Wayback Machine Kremlin.ru. Retrieved on 2009-06-17.
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