With PM Modi in Brazil for BRICS, Cong recalls 2012 summit where Manmohan proposed development bank

advertisement

New Delhi, July 6: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brazil to attend the BRICS Summit, the Congress on Sunday recalled the events leading up to the formation of the grouping as also the Summit hosted by India in 2012 during which then PM Manmohan Singh had proposed the establishment of a BRICS Development Bank.

Advertisement

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “After dropping by in Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, and Argentina, the Super Premium Frequent Flier Prime Minister has reached Brazil. The Seventeenth BRICS Summit begins today in Rio de Janeiro.”

It was in 1998 that the Arabic-speaking, Asia-leaning, Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov floated the idea of a trilateral forum called RIC — Russia, India and China, he recalled.

Advertisement

This was done to promote multipolarity in global affairs when the US was triumphant, Ramesh said in his post on X.

“Then in November 2001, Jim O’Neill and his research team at Goldman Sachs in New York came out with a report titled Building Better Global Economic BRICs–Brazil, Russia, India and China that were identified as the four powerhouse economies for the future,” he said.

The report still makes for very interesting reading, Ramesh added.

Thereafter at the G8 Summit (Russia was then a member of G7 and was to be excluded post-2014) outreach in St. Petersburg in July 2006, the Presidents of Russia, China, and Brazil, and the Prime Minister of India met and gave their nod to the formation of BRIC, he said.

“The very first summit of the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – was held in June 2009 in Russia. Dr. Manmohan Singh attended it. In 2010, South Africa joined the quartet which then became known as BRICS. In 2024 Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and UAE joined and this year Indonesia has been inducted,” Ramesh said.

Noting that the first time India hosted the BRICS Summit was in March 2012, Ramesh said that at this meeting in New Delhi, it was Dr. Manmohan Singh who had proposed the establishment of a BRICS Development Bank.

advertisement

“Three years later, this was to be launched as the New Development Bank headquartered in Shanghai with the eminent Indian banker K.V. Kamath as its first President,” he said.

So far India has borrowed about USD 8 billion for various urban transport, water supply, renewable energy, and other infrastructure projects, Ramesh said.

He also posted the link to the report by Jim O’Neill and his research team at Goldman Sachs.

Prime Minister Modi arrived in Rio de Janeiro on a four-day visit, during which he will participate in the 17th BRICS Summit and undertake a state visit.

The prime minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival at the Galeao International Airport on Saturday evening (local time).

This is the fourth leg of his five-nation visit.

BRICS, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has been expanded with five additional members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Modi visited Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Argentina as part of the five-nation visit. He will travel to Namibia on the last leg of his tour. (PTI)

Hot this week

Pay hike of Assam ministers, MLAs likely as 3-member panel submits report

Full report likely by Oct 30 Guwahati Sept 25: There...

Meghalaya Biological Park Inaugurated After 25 Years: A New Chapter in Conservation and Education

Shillong, Nov 28: Though it took nearly 25 years...

ANSAM rejects Kuki’s separate administration demand, says bifurcation not acceptable

Guwahati, Sept 8: Rejecting the separate administration demand of...

Meghalaya man missing in Bangkok

Shillong, Jan 10: A 57-year-old Meghalaya resident, Mr. Treactchell...

Meghalaya’s historic fiber paves the way for eco-friendly products and sustainable livelihoods

By Roopak Goswami Shillong, Oct 25: From making earbuds to...

Drawing the Line of Peace

Assam-Meghalaya Set a New Course for the Northeast By Dipak...

Mandi cloudburst: Family dead or missing, 10-month-old baby lone survivor

Shimla, July 6: Ten-month-old Neetika is probably the lone...

Hezbollah leader refuses to disarm until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon

Beirut, July 6: Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem reiterated Sunday...

Israeli airstrikes kill 33 Palestinians in Gaza

Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), July 6: Israeli airstrikes killed...

Texas floods leave 51 dead, 27 girls missing as rescuers search devastated landscape

Kerrville (US), July 6: Rescuers scoured a devastated central...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img