8th BRICS Summit – Goa, India, October 15-16, 2016

On October 15-16, in Goa, India, President Michel Temer will take part in the 8th Summit of the BRICS countries – the association formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The coordination of BRICS has been guided by a pragmatic approach which seeks to identify areas of cooperation that have the potential for joint initiatives producing tangible results. To this end, BRICS has been consolidating an agenda of cooperation in the following fields: financial affairs, trade, agriculture, health, science and technology, education, and fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption.

In addition to the Goa Declaration, expected outcomes include the signing of memoranda of understanding between customs officials and diplomatic academies of the BRICS countries on environmental cooperation and agricultural research.

In 2015, the BRICS countries accounted for a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 16.92 trillion, or 23.1% of the gross world product (GWP). BRICS share in global exports have more than doubled since 2001, when the group accounted for 8.1% of world exports. In 2015, the share increased to 19.1%.

Between 2006 and 2015, trade among bloc members increased by 163%, going from US$ 93 billion to US$ 244 billion. In the same period, Brazilian exports to other BRICS countries grew by 202%, from US$ 14.25 billion to US$ 45.05 billion. Imports grew by 249%, going from US$ 10.84 billion to US$ 37.87 billion. In 2015, Brazil reported a trade surplus of US$ 5.1 billion in its trade with other BRICS countries.

During the Summit, a meeting with the BRICS Business Council and a briefing by the president of the New Development Bank, Indian-born K.V. Kamath, are scheduled to be held. On the 16 ^th , the leaders of the five countries will meet with their counterparts of  the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectorial Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)  member countries  - Banglasedh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Cooperation among the BRICS countries reached a new level with the creation of the New Bank of Development (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, whose respective establishment treaties were singed in Fortaleza in 2014.

The NDB aims at funding infrastructure and sustainable development projects. In April of 2015, the Bank approved its first projects, all in the renewable energy field. Brazil will receive a US$ 300 million loan (via the Brazilian Development Bank) for projects on wind energy.

The Contingent Reserve Arrangement aims to provide support in response to short-term balance of payments pressures the grouping's member countries may face, therefore, complementing the global financial safety network. The initial total resources of the mechanism will be US$ 100 billion (with an individual commitment of US$ 18 billion from Brazil).