5th BRICS Summit held in Durban

South Africa hosted the fifth BRICS Summit from 26 to 28 March 2013 at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC). This will complete the first cycle of BRICS summits.

The central area of discussion was under the overarching theme, BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialisation.

Subsequent to the discussions that took place at the Business Forum Meeting, the industry leaders from the business communities of the five countries namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed on the following points:

• BRICS and Africa will forge a closer partnership for development integration and industrialisation.
• BRICS countries will actively support infrastructure development and industrialisation on the African continent in order to contribute to its development and to expand trade links between Africa and BRICS.
• The global economic situation, though improving, continues to remain uncertain with the Euro-crisis a major concern. The recovery seen in the US and the continued steps taken by the Euro Zone countries to address the sovereign debt crisis are worth noting. The task ahead is to build on these developments and BRICS countries remain committed to the cause of promoting sustainable growth.
• Greater economic cooperation amongst BRICS countries is imperative. This can help in addressing some of the domestic challenges each of us face as well as prove beneficial for global economic growth.
• China and Brazil have agreed to establish a currency swap line worth around 30 billion dollar in their respective currencies, which they say is designed to protect against future global financial crises.