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Four Major Agreements on BRICS Sidelines | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for a group photo during the BRICS Summit at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in Xiamen, southeastern China’s Fujian Province, China September 4, 2017. REUTERS/Wu Hong/Pool


Beijing- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on the countries of the BRICS – the bloc of the fastest growing countries in the world – to enhance coordination on important global issues and accelerate the reform of the world economic structure.

The leaders of the bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, witnessed the signing of four documents on cooperation in economy, trade, innovation, as well as on strategic cooperation between the BRICS Business Council and the New Development Bank.

The Chinese president urged the two organizations to ensure greater cooperation among the countries of the group, noting the achievements of the Business Council in the fields of e-commerce, technical development, standard setting and exchange of experiences in the digital economy.

He also praised the performance of the New Development Bank, commonly known as the BRICS Bank, especially with the opening of the bank’s regional center in Africa and the development that has been achieved so far in terms of operations and commercial mechanisms.

He stressed that while BRICS leaders have agreed to work for the next “Golden Decade” of cooperation, the Business Council and the New Development Bank should seize that opportunity.

Around 300 people attended the BRICS meetings, including the Business Council members, business delegates and the head of the New Development Bank.

The summit witnessed the New Development Bank signing loan agreements worth $800 million for three green development projects in Fujian, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

The bank’s president said at the signing ceremony that China has invested 100 billion dollars in renewable energy from 2015 to 2016, more than the combined investments of Europe and the United States. He added that with such huge investments, China was playing a leading role in global green development.

The 9th BRICS Summit kicked off on Sunday in the Chinese city of Xiamen and ended on Tuesday.