A panel discussion entitled BRICS in Expansion will take place on Thursday during the 54th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. CHINA DAILY
BRICS expansion can bring benefits to the global economy by harnessing the potential of developing countries and South-South cooperation, government officials and industry experts said on Thursday during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The focus of the discussion was the impact of the historic expansion of the BRICS countries announced in August.
Six countries, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Argentina, were invited to join BRICS – an intergovernmental organization that originally included Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Argentina withdrew from its planned accession in December.
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy, said an expanded BRICS country could help ease global inflationary pressures by increasing supply.
“BRICS countries can have more trade flows, more trade ports and more unifying policies at the level of manufacturing products in view of market needs, especially in developing countries. I think this is something that the BRICS will bring to the table,” he said.
Gao Jifan, chief executive of Chinese photovoltaic company Trina Solar, said BRICS can help the world achieve green development as many of its members are now leading the way in developing renewable energy.
“This is not only about exchanges between BRICS countries, but also about making our contribution to the world by disseminating green technologies to better boost the green transition,” he emphasized.
Questions were also raised during the session about China's dominance in the BRICS countries and the so-called political ideology behind the organization.
Enoch Godongwana, South Africa's finance minister, said the institution was built on the foundation of mutual respect.
“In the BRICS countries, no one dominates anyone else,” he said. “There is consensus when making decisions. Therefore there can be no dominance.”
Godongwana further noted that it is different from the Bretton Woods institutions.
“The World Bank belongs to the Americans. The International Monetary Fund belongs to Europe. That is beyond question. And that's why they have to be dominant in these institutions. This is the consensus in the BRICS countries,” he said.
Al Marri stressed that the BRICS countries are not driven by a political agenda, but instead represent “opportunities” and “economic drivers” for the world.
“BRICS is not a political stance, nor are we in a Cold War environment to debate whether to join or not. It is the opportunities, trade and economic drivers that actually allow us to look at the BRICS in a global context.” “South-South agenda for trade and economics,” he said.
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