FORTALEZA, Brazil, July 15 (AFP): Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging powers meet Tuesday to launch a new development bank and a reserve fund seen as counterweights to Western-led financial institutions.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hosts the leaders of Russia, India, China and South Africa in Fortaleza on Tuesday before talks with South American leaders the next day in Brasilia.
The summit will mark the first face-to-face meeting between India's new Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, who visited Argentina and Cuba before coming to Brazil, the trip gives him a chance to hammer home his calls for a "multipolar" world amid tensions with the West over the Ukraine crisis.
"Together we should think about a system of measures that would help prevent the harassment of countries that do not agree with some foreign policy decisions made by the United States and their allies," Putin told Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency.
Russia has been excluded from the G8 group of industrialised powers as punishment for its annexation of Crimea and perceived meddling in Ukraine.
The United States is threatening to impose new economic sanctions on Russia over accusations that it is backing pro-Moscow separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The summit comes as the economies of some BRICS countries, which together represent 40 per cent of the world population and a fifth of the global economy, are cooling down. Russia and Brazil are expected to see growth of just one per cent this year.
The five emerging nations unveiled in 2013 their plans to create the bank, which aims to rival the Washington-based World Bank while the reserve is seen as a "mini-IMF."
Another Xinhua report from Cape Town adds: South Africa expects to boost intra-BRICS trade which has already seen great progress, the Presidecy said on Monday.
Boosting intra-BRICS trade remains a key objective of the South African government, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said as President Jacob Zuma arrived in Fortaleza, Brazil for the sixth BRICS Summit under the theme: "BRICS -- Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions."
The summit, scheduled for July 15-16, will emphasise social inclusion and sustainable development, provide an opportunity to reflect on areas of cooperation and showcase BRICS accomplishments.
"BRICS membership advances South Africa's national interests through pursuing key economic priorities related to poverty alleviation, job creation and reducing inequality," Maharaj said.
