The 2013 BRICS summit was the fifth annual BRICS summit, an

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

conference attended by the head of states or heads of government of the five member states

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, China and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The summit was held in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa in 2013. This completed the first round of BRICS summits.

Background

A declaration at the end of 2012 BRICS summit read that: "Brazil, Russia, India and China thank South Africa for the proposal to host the 5th summit in 2013. They intend to provide multifaceted support for it." The BRICS leaders are expected to discuss the establishment of a

new development bank The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). According to the Agreement on the NDB, ...

. According to Mikhail Margelov they will seek agreement on the amount of starting capital.

Participants

China's Xi Jingping made this the first summit of his presidency. The

heads of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

of the five countries that participated in the summit were:

Gallery of participating leaders

Members:
File:Dilma Rousseff - foto oficial 2011-01-09.jpg ,

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

File:Vladimir Putin - 2012.jpg ,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

File:Manmohan Singh 2012-06-18.jpg ,
Manmohan Singh,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

File:Xi jinping Brazil 2013.png ,

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

File:Jacob Zuma 2014 (cropped).jpg ,
Jacob Zuma,

(Host)

Discussions

The summit commenced on 26 March at 17:30 GMT. Amongst the important issues being discussed was the creation of the development bank as a follow up from the previous summit. It sought to create an infrastructure-focused bank. The disputes over the bank were in regards to what it would do and how it would provide an equitable return on the initial investment of about US$100bn.BRICS reach deal over development bank – Africa – Al Jazeera English
/ref>

Reactions

Host President Jacob Zuma said the summit could address South Africa's economic problems, such as high unemployment. He added: "BRICS provides an opportunity for South Africa to promote its competitiveness. It is an opportunity to move further in our drive to promote economic growth and confront the challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment that afflicts our country. " Daniel Twining of the

German Marshall Fund The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a nonpartisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union. Founded in 1972 through a gift from the We ...

said: "Ironically it may be the cleavages within the BRICS grouping that more accurately hint at the future of the global order: tensions between China and Brazil on trade, India on security, and Russia on status highlight the difficulty Beijing will have in staking its claim to global leadership." The media suggested the bank was way to bypass the IMF and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

. Despite high hopes for the 2013 summit, BRICS was not as involved as they had planned to be.

References

External links

Official siteThe Sino-Brazilian Principles in a Latin American and BRICS Context: The Case for Comparative Public Budgeting Legal Research
''

Wisconsin International Law Journal The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin L ...

'', 13 May 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:BRICS summit,05 05 2013 conferences 2013 in international relations 2013 in South Africa 21st-century diplomatic conferences Diplomatic conferences in South Africa History of Durban March 2013 events in South Africa