Brics Summit 2017 Xiamen Live: Make international order more just and equitable, says Xi Jinping

Xiamen: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sought a strong partnership among Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations to spur growth, saying that the bloc has developed a robust framework for cooperation and contributed to the stability in a world “drifting towards uncertainty”.

Addressing the plenary session of the Brics Summit in China’s Xiamen city, Modi said trade and economy were the foundations of cooperation among Brics. He also called for the creation of a Brics rating agency to cater to financing the needs of sovereign and corporate entities of developing countries.

Here are the latest updates and development from the Xiamen Brics Summit 2017:

■ Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the BRICS countries to make the international order more just and equitable, asserting that many pressing global challenges cannot be effectively resolved without their participation.

Speaking at the opening of the plenary session at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Xi called on the five nation grouping to forge unity to jointly advance solutions for international peace and development. “We need to make the international order more just and equitable. Our ever closer ties require that we five countries play more active in global governance. Without our participation, many pressing global challenges cannot be effectively resolved,” Xi told the gathering.

■ India is fast changing into one of the most open economies in the world, with improvements on global indices and the biggest ever reform GST weaving the nation into one unified market, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today. Modi pitched the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a big way, which unified more than a dozen taxes from 1 July as India’s biggest economic reform ever.

“In one stroke, a unified market of 1.3 billion people has been created,” he said.

GST is expected to boost economic activity as same rate for goods and services makes business easy and also facilitates smooth movement of goods and services. The prime minister also spoke of programmes like Digital India, Start Up India and Make in India that are changing the economic landscape of the country.

“They are assisting India turn into a knowledge based, skill supported and technology driven society,” he asserted.

■ Asserting that affordable and sustainable access to energy is crucial for the growth of the Brics nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on the member countries to work closely with the International Solar Alliance to strengthen the solar energy agenda.

In his intervention at the plenary session of the 9th BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Modi noted that climate resilient development calls upon the nations to utilise all available resource streams.

“Renewable energy is particularly important on multiple counts. BRICS countries can work closely with International Solar Alliance (ISA) to strengthen the solar energy agenda. Our five countries have complementary skills and strengths to promote use of renewable and solar energy,” Modi said.

The ISA was launched by India and France in November 2015 and aims to bring together a coalition of 121 countries for mutual gains through enhanced solar energy utilisation. Modi said the New Development Bank under the BRICS grouping can also establish an effective link with ISA to support such cooperation.

“Our five countries have complementary skills and strengths to promote use of renewable and solar energy. The NDB can also establish an effective link with ISA to support such cooperation and we would wish to see more clean energy funding, particularly in solar energy, from the NDB,” Modi said.

■ Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed ways for boosting bilateral trade and investment along with the security situation in Afghanistan. This was Modi’s first bilateral meeting since his arrival last evening.

“The two sides basically touched upon several aspects of the bilateral relationship. President Putin recalled prime minister’s visit to Russia earlier this year. And, he thanked the prime minister for high-level participation from India at the Eastern Economic Forum,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters at a briefing in Xiamen.

When asked if the two leaders discussed Afghanistan, Kumar said some regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan was also deliberated upon. He, however, refused to give further details.

He also said that during the Modi-Putin meeting several bilateral issues were discussed like the cooperation in the oil and natural gas sector.

Kumar said the two leaders also discussed how they should work together to promote trade and investment. During the meeting, the two leaders also discussed cultural exchanges.

“President Putin mentioned about the ‘Festival of India’, which was organised in Russia earlier this year. Discussions also took place on the promotion of tourism between the two countries and also on the student exchange between the two sides,” Kumar said.

■ Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Brazilian President Michel Temer and discussed a partnership based on a “common global vision”.

The two leaders met in this southeastern Chinese city on the sidelines of the ninth BRICS Summit. “A partnership based on a common global vision & shared democratic values.

PM @narendramodi engages with Brazilian President @MichelTemer,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
During the last BRICS Summit in Goa in October, Modi and Temer held a similar bilateral meeting with Temer.

■ Secretary East in the External Affairs Ministry Preeti Saran said all BRICS leaders, speaking at the summit, voiced serious concerns over terrorism. At a restricted session of the BRICS leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also articulated India’s position on the issue and offered to host a conference on de- radicalisation.

Talking about India’s position on terrorism, Saran told reporters at a briefing in Xiamen that, “Terrorism is a scourge that has to be addressed collectively by the entire international community. And, I think, increasingly there is a realisation that you cannot have double standards in tackling this scourge.” “You cannot have good and bad terrorists. It is a collective action,” she said.

The BRICS declaration said the grouping deplored all terrorist attacks worldwide, including attacks in BRICS countries, and condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever. It stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.

■ PM Modi today strongly pitched for setting up of a Brics credit rating agency to counter western rating institutions and cater to the financial needs of sovereign and corporate entities of developing nations.

In an address at the plenary session of the Brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Summit here, Modi said a separate rating agency would help the economies of the member countries as well as other developing nations.

“Our Central Banks must further strengthen their capabilities and promote cooperation between the Contingent Reserve Arrangement and the IMF (International Monetary Fund),” the prime minister said, urging early creation of the BRICS rating agency.

■ India had first mooted the idea of having such an agency for the BRICS grouping which can solve impediments for the emerging market economies posed by the present CRA market, which is dominated by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch.

These three western rating agencies hold over 90% of the sovereign ratings market now.

Indian officials were at the forefront at last year’s Brics Summit in Goa in pointing out the shortcomings and the need for having an alternative credit rating agency.

■ The five-nation Brics grouping said Monday it “strongly deplores” North Korea’s latest nuclear test, adding to global condemnation of Pyongyang.

“We strongly deplore the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK (North Korea),” Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa said in a joint statement from their annual summit.

“We express deep concern over the ongoing tension and prolonged nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, and emphasise that it should only be settled through peaceful means and direct dialogue of all the parties concerned.”

■ All BRICS leaders strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations: MEA.

■ Leaders called on states to prevent financing of terrorist networks & terrorist actions from their territories: Preeti Saran, Secretary (East), MEA.

■ PM Modi offers to host a conference on deradicalisation at a restricted meeting of BRICS leaders: MEA.

■ PM Modi today held talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues. The two leaders met in this Chinese city on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

The two leaders believed to have discussed ways to further ramp up bilateral cooperation, particularly in areas of defence, security and trade.
■ Brics Declaration calls for expeditious finalization an adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) by UNGA. The BRICS also called upon the international community to establish a “genuinely broad” international counter-terrorism coalition and support the UN’s central coordinating role in this regard.

“We reaffirm our commitment on increasing the effectiveness of the UN counter-terrorism framework, including in the areas of cooperation and coordination among the relevant UN entities, designation of terrorists and terrorist groups and technical assistance to Members States,” the declaration said.

Read full text of Xiamen Brics Declaration.

■ The prime minister said a strong partnership among member nations on innovation and digital economy can help spur growth, promote transparency and support the sustainable development goals. He also urged central banks of member nation to further strengthen their capabilities and promote cooperation between the Contingent Reserve Arrangement of the grouping and the International Monetary Fund.

■ The prime minister emphasised the need to accelerate track of cooperation in smart cities, urbanisation and disaster management. “BRICS has developed a robust framework for cooperation; contribute stability and growth in a world drifting towards uncertainty. Our endeavours today touch diverse areas of agriculture, culture, environment, energy, sports and Information and Communications Technology (ICT),” he said.

■ Modi asserted that the grouping was in a “mission-mode” to eradicate poverty and ensure health, sanitation, skills, food security, gender equality, energy and education. He said women’s empowerment programmes were “productivity multipliers” that mainstream women in nation building.

■ Tang Yungai, a Chinese reporter with the China Radio International in the Hindi service department, while speaking to ANI, said that she loves India and has formally studied Hindi at a university here.

“As a Hindi leaner, I would just like to say that I love India and I travel with many Indian people and after meeting so many Indian people I came to know that Indians are very honest and they are very good and that’s why I love India so much,” said Tang Yungai, in fluent Hindi.

■ China will provide $76 million for a Brics economic and technology cooperation plan and another $4 million to support the projects of the bloc’s New Development Bank, president Xi Jinping announced on Monday.

Calling on the five nation grouping to forge unity to jointly advance solutions for international peace and development, Xi said the Brics countries should make economic globalisation open and inclusive, and beneficial to all.

“I wish to announce here that China will launch the economic and technical cooperation plan for BRICS countries with 500 million yuan [about $76 million at the current exchange rates] for the first term to facilitate policy exchange and practical cooperation in economic and trade field,” Xi said at the opening of the plenary session at the Brics Summit in Xiamen.

Source:LiveMint