The 4th BRICS summit was a meeting of the heads of state and government of the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—held in New Delhi, India, from 29 March to 1 April 2012. The summit was hosted by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and took place at the Taj Palace Hotel.
Key participants
- Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff
- Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev (Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended a separate meeting)
- India: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (President Pranab Mukherjee also participated in related events)
- China: Premier Wen Jiabao (President Hu Jintao attended a related ceremony)
- South Africa: President Jacob Zuma
Agenda and themes
The summit’s official theme was “Partnership for Innovation and Growth.” The agenda covered a wide range of issues, including:
- Reform of global governance institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- Development of a new multilateral development bank (later named the New Development Bank, NDB).
- Creation of a Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) to provide financial liquidity support to member states facing balance‑of‑payments pressures.
- Cooperation in science, technology, innovation, and education.
- Coordination on trade, investment, and energy security.
Major outcomes
- Agreement to establish the New Development Bank (NDB). The leaders endorsed the concept of a bank with an initial authorized capital of US $100 billion, intended to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging economies.
- Approval of the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. The BRICS countries agreed to set up a framework for mutual financial support, with an initial pooled capital of US $100 billion, to be operational by 2014.
- Joint communiqué. The summit produced a communiqué calling for reforms of the IMF and WTO to better reflect the interests of emerging economies, and for greater South‑South cooperation.
- Sectoral cooperation initiatives. Agreements were signed in areas such as agriculture, health, education, science‑technology collaboration, and renewable energy.
Subsequent significance
The decisions made at the 4th summit laid the groundwork for major institutional developments within BRICS, notably the launch of the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement at the 5th BRICS summit in 2014. The summit also reinforced the group’s collective stance on reforming global financial architecture and expanding South‑South economic ties.
References
- Official website of the 4th BRICS Summit (archived)
- “BRICS leaders call for reforms of IMF, WTO” – Press release, 1 April 2012
- “New Development Bank: From concept to reality” – BRICS Joint Statement, 2014
All information is drawn from publicly available, verifiable sources.
