BRIC foreign ministers meet amid food & fuel crisis
At a time when the US and EU are blaming global food and oil shortages on countries like India and China, foreign ministers of India, Brazil, Russia and China will be meeting soon in a small town in Russia to discuss the food crisis and the slowdo...
NEW DELHI: At a time when the US and EU are blaming global food and oil shortages on countries like India and China, foreign ministers of India, Brazil, Russia and China will be meeting soon in a small town in Russia to discuss the food crisis and the slowdown of the US economy.
Foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), three of which are being directly blamed for increasing food prices, will meet on May 15 in the Russian town of Ekaterinburg to discuss food security, energy security and reform of international financial institutions. A day later, Russia, India and China will hold a trilateral meeting in a follow up to the meeting in Harbin, China, last year.
Though political issues like non-proliferation remain on the agenda, the meeting comes at a time when economic issues are dominating the international discourse. The first meeting of BRIC at the foreign minister level will mainly have an economic and financial content. ���The issue of biofuels, food security, global financial trends, impact of the slowdown of the US economy are all on the agenda,������ said an official. The agenda was drawn up when deputy foreign minister from the four countries met last month.
Food security and increasing prices were brought into the international limelight when food riots broke out in some parts of the world. The developing countries have argued at the WTO that the fault lies with industrialised countries which are using agriculture subsidies to undercut the agriculture output of other countries leading to reduced food production. The US has made the case that increasing food consumption in India and China is a major reason for increase in world food prices.
On the other hand, data released by the FAO showed even though consumption of cereals was increasing in the US, 30 million tonnes of corn was diverted for biofuel purposes last year. India is likely to argue that that one country cannot be held responsible for the rise in food prices and that there is a need for a global approach to resolving the issue.
In this scenario, the meeting of the BRIC countries comes at an opportune time and is being seen as an opportunity for the four countries to provide their own assessment of key economic issues facing the world. ���This is a part of the move towards multipolarity We will see the synergies that are possible and see how we can find a solution,������ said an official. Some concrete proposals are also expected from the meeting.
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Russia, which has taken on the US on several issues including the US missile shield plan, is also looking at the grouping for formulating positions on global issues. Till now BRIC meetings have always been held on the sidelines of other international meetings. But this is the first standalone meeting of foreign ministers.Download
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