By IANS,
New Delhi : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) should combine their “huge potential” to continue enhancing their coordination on major issues of common concern.
BRICS countries should coordinate better on issues such as the world economy, the democratic and equitable world order and global governance reform, Manmohan Singh told Xinhua prior to the BRICS summit in China.
The third BRICS summit will be held Thursday in Sanya, China’s southern Hainan province.
Cooperation among BRICS members should aim at improving the economic well-being of their people.
“We could, for example, share experiences on the management of large urban cities,” he said.
“We should also enhance dialogues and exchanges among our civil societies, media, businesses, scholars and youths.”
As BRICS countries are all members of the current UN Security Council, they should “shape and guide the international discourse on issues of importance to us”, he said.
Manmohan Singh said India warmly welcomed South Africa to BRICS and added that its presence would lend weight to the grouping.
BRICS can contribute to the development of Africa and articulate its priorities at international forums, which will benefit not just Africa but the entire world, he said.
The Indian prime minister said he was very happy that the third BRICS summit was taking place for the first time in Asia.
“This is a matter of great encouragement for all BRICS countries.”
“We have a substantive agenda for the summit. That includes discussions on the international situation, international economic and financial issues, development and sectoral cooperation. I look forward to reviewing the decisions we took at the last G-20 summit in Seoul,” Manmohan Singh said.
On cooperation with China, Manmohan Singh said India and China “are both witnessing rapid growth, addressing the aspirations of our peoples and stimulating global demand”.
“Our shared objective remains to ensure sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy and employment creation,” he said, adding that the two largest developing countries in the world bear important responsibilities of ensuring their all-round and sustainable socio-economic development.