BRICS Business Council Meeting

BRICS Business Council meets in Ufa

BRICS Business Council Meeting

The meeting was attended by the heads of the national organisations of the BRICS Business Council, as well as by prominent representatives of business communities from the BRICS countries.

Kirill Dmitriyev said that partnership among the BRICS countries on infrastructure projects will help to better coordinate the investment activity of [their] funds.

"We are already working on specific projects with each one of them," he said.

BRICS business circles are currently discussing projects such as the development of hydroelectric power projects in India, infrastructure projects in Russia related to the Chinese Silk Road and [natural] resource projects in South Africa, he said.

These projects will proceed in conjunction with the New Development Bank, Mr Dmitriyev said.

Vladimir Dmitriyev said an NDB vice president from Russia will be a VEB employee. VEB, as a development bank in Russia, plans to sign an agreement with the NDB at the BRICS summit on 9 July, he said.

Vladimir Yakunin said Russia's Razvitiye [Development] Trans-Eurasian Belt initiative and China's Silk Road Economic Belt concept complement each other.

"This is not just about building infrastructure - railway, motorway and energy infrastructure. This is about creating an extended economic development cluster with the participation of international financial and manufacturing institutions," he said.

Business Council members will present their proposals to the BRICS heads of state at the 9 July meeting.

Sergei Katyrin told reporters after the meeting that an investment declaration to improve and coordinate the business environment in the BRICS countries will be submitted to the summit participants.

There are several infrastructure projects that are of interest to virtually all BRICS countries, he said.

"A case in point is Brazilian railways, which should connect two parts of the country, and a transcontinental route that could cross Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile," he said.

After the BRICS Business Council meeting, COSCO Chairman of the Board Ma Zehua spoke about the operation of an internet platform for sharing business information among BRICS countries.

This will play an important role in strengthening economic exchanges and business cooperation in various fields, he said. The website offers a database of companies from BRICS countries that are interested in cooperation, including China's Sinopec and other major companies. Furthermore, visitors to the website can familiarise themselves with national economic development programmes.

Indian BRICS Business Council Chairman Onkar Kanwar said Delhi is interested in cooperation with Rostech and Russian Railways, among other companies. "India is a vast market and we need good infrastructure, while Russia has a diversified railway network," he said, adding that India would like a part of the investment in the country's railway system to come from Russian Railways

Cooperation with Rostech could involve weapons modernisation programmes, he said.