Hu calls for closer BRICS cooperation,coordination

LOS CABOS - The leaders of BRICS nations met here Monday and agreed to boost cooperation within the group of five major emerging economies.

Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the meeting, held on the sidelines of a G20 summit in this Mexican resort city, along with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma.

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, China's President Hu Jintao and South African President Jacob Zuma pose for a picture after a BRICS leaders' meeting in Los Cabos June 18, 2012. The leaders are in Los Cabos, Mexico, for the G20 Summit. [Photo/Xinhua]

Hu urged the G20 summit, which will start later in the day, to pick up the all-in-the-same-boat spirit and buoy up the international community's confidence in the global economic recovery.

Noting that BRICS members have boosted coordination and cooperation in a variety of areas, Hu said the BRICS nations should next commit themselves to promoting economic growth and improving the people's livelihood.

The five countries should "manage their own things well, maintain the momentum of development and contribute to the recovery of the world economy," he said.

The BRICS nations, Hu added, should firmly push forward the reforms in international economy and financing so as to increase the presence and say of emerging economies and developing countries, improve global economic governance, and create an institutional framework conducive to long-term, healthy growth of the world economy.

The president also said the BRICS nations should jointly work to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various areas and strengthen consultations among their fiscal and finance departments.

They should also step up coordination and cooperation in a bid to play an active role in the international community's effort to resolve the European debt crisis, he added.

As regards the G20 meeting, Hu said the Los Cabos summit is held against the background of a world economy beset with instability and uncertainty, and thus has drawn great attention worldwide.

China supports the BRICS nations to coordinate their stances and jointly push for positive results at the summit, which should reflect the all-in-the-same-boat spirit and a commitment to mutual benefit, said the president.

The G20 conference, he said, should focus on coordinating macro-economic policies, reinforcing the international community's confidence in the global economic recovery and demonstrating the group's spirit of cooperative partnership in jointly addressing major risks and challenges in global economy and financing.

In addition, Hu called on the G20 summit to adopt a development-oriented perspective, pay due attention to the opinions of emerging economies and developing countries, and guarantee their rights of and space for development.

While discussing the issue of boosting funds for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Hu emphasized that the G20 members have to take the global economic stability and growth into account and encourage and support euro-zone nations to adopt due measures to lift market confidence.

The BRICS leaders agreed that ensuring sufficient resources for the IMF is conducive to the international community's efforts to tackle the current major challenges in global economy and financing.

The BRICS nations are ready to help, they said, while stressing that the IMF should implement the 2010 reform plan on its quotas and governance in a comprehensive and timely manner.

The leaders also discussed the possibility of setting up a currency swap arrangement and a foreign exchange reserve pool within the five-member framework.