Russia proposes discussing a roadmap for BRICS investment cooperation at the Ufa Summit – Yury Ushakov

The BRICS and SCO summits will be held in Ufa on 8-10 July 2015. Vladimir Putin will attend in his capacity as the leader of the host country.

According to the Kremlin press service, the participants will address issues related to political coordination, global governance, and guaranteeing sustainable development, as well as ways to expand cooperation within the association. They will also discuss the prospects for the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement.

The agenda includes an outreach meeting with the participation of the heads of state of BRICS, SCO and Eurasian Economic Union countries, as well as a meeting with representatives of the BRICS Business Council. President Putin is also scheduled to talk with trade union leaders of the BRICS countries. A range of documents summarising the results of the summit will be adopted.

On the sidelines of the Ufa Summit, Vladimir Putin will have bilateral meetings with other BRICS and SCO heads of state.

Aide to the President Yury Ushakov told journalists that Russia has put forward a proposal to discuss a roadmap for the five countries' investment cooperation at the Ufa Summit.

"We believe that along with the formation of the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, we are seeing the emergence of general mechanisms capable of effectively stabilising national capital markets in case of a global economic crisis. We can also see the emergence of opportunities for joint financing of various investment projects and expanding trade and economic ties in general," Mr Ushakov said.

He noted that the roadmap for investment cooperation would help guide the work of the New Development Bank, the Business Council and the different financial and economic agencies of the five countries.

At the same time, Mr Ushakov said it is too soon to discuss other countries joining the New Development Bank. "This is not a counterweight or alternative to the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. It is only an additional instrument for meeting common challenges," he said.

He also reported that the Ufa Declaration will be adopted at the end of the BRICS summit, which will assess the current political and economic situation in the world and describe the shared approaches of the BRICS countries to current issues of multilateral cooperation.