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Russia welcomes BRICS summit participants

July 8, 2015

Representatives from BRICS nations have arrived in Russia for a summit of the world's strongest emerging economies. The delegates were warmly welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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7. Gipfel der Brics-Staaten in Ufa
Image: Getty Images/A. Vilf

Leaders from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) grouping of emerging economies arrived in the city of Ufa in Russia on Wednesday a day ahead of a BRICS summit. Russia currently holds the BRICS presidency.

Putin met individually with the leaders of the four guest nations as they arrived on Wednesday, with his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping likely the most important given Russia's currently tumultuous relationship with other world powers.

"I won't hide that we are especially happy to see our friends from China," Putin told Xi ahead of their meeting.

With Russia excluded from the recent Group of Eight meeting in Germany (which was held as a G7 summit) and the ongoing clash with Western countries such as the United States and Germany over the Ukraine crisis, Russia hopes the BRICS summit will show it is not isolated despite international political and economic pressure.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a statement that BRICS "illustrates a new polycentric system of international relations."

Putin said "we are well aware of the difficulties we have to face economically and in global politics, but by joining efforts we will without a doubt overcome all problems."

One specific development was the creation of a BRICS bank, which officially came into being on Tuesday. This could provide a much-needed source of credit for Russian companies given the fact that economic sanctions prevent Western banks from lending to Russia.

According to the official website of Russia's BRICS presidency, the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) refers to a framework for the "central banks of the BRICS countries to provide mutual support (monetary funds in US dollars) in the event that national financial systems encounter dollar liquidity problems. Its purpose is to maintain financial stability in the BRICS countries."

The BRICS summit is taking place at the same time as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which is also being held in Ufa. The SCO is a regional grouping that includes former Soviet Central Asian republics and focus on security, politics, and the economy. Iran, India, and Pakistan are observer participants of the SCO.

mz/kms (AFP, AP, Reuters)