SANYA (CHINA): Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) – group of fastest growing economies – on Thursday called for a revamp in the global monetary system and signed a pact to use their own currencies instead of dollar in issuing credit or grants to each other.
The path-breaking agreement was signed at the 3rd BRICS summit here attended by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Presidents Hu Jintao of China, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and Jacob Zuma of South Africa.
“Our designated banks have signed a framework agreement on financial cooperation which envisages grant of credit in local currencies and cooperation in capital markets and other financial services,” said Manmohan Singh. But the agreement is confined to credit and not trade. BRICS economies hold 40% of the world’s currency reserves, the majority of which is still in US dollars. Under a tight security blanket, the BRICS summit was held in the coastal city of Sanya in China’s Hainan island following which the leaders jointly addressed the media but did not take questions from journalists.
In their restricted session, the Indian prime minister and four presidents deliberated on the international situation and the financial, development, climate and security issues.
Hu said the world economy was undergoing profound and complex changes. “The era demands that the BRICS countries strengthen dialogue and cooperation (in this direction).”
Manmohan Singh, who also addressed the plenary session of the summit, said: “The quality and the durability of the global economic recovery process depends to a great measure on how the BRICS economies perform.”
