BRIC countries strengthen cooperation

The BRIC-Think Tank Summit has begun in the Brazilian capital Brasilia. The representatives of Brazil, Russia, India and China discussed various aspects of trade involving their countries.

Mthunzi Mdwaba, vice president of business unity South Africa,  left, speaks at the BRIC - IBAS meeting by business people from  India, South Africa and Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, April  14, 2010.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

The two day seminar has gathered BRIC-nation think tanks to examine the global economic situation and the role of these countries in the post-crisis global transformation.

Rajan Bharti Mittal of Ficci president says, "Food security, energy security are the issues that we need to deal with, the world is grappling with them, we have to recognize that. Also, I do expect that in that meeting we also need to talk about the DOHA Round, what are the view points. We also need to have engagement of the political policy makers on climate change."

In the second session of the seminar, the representatives analyzed the weight of the BRIC countries in global trade, as well as trade between the members of the group.

Experts from Russia say the BRIC countries must engage in joint projects in order to boost trade and promote development. They suggested these projects could be in such fields as space technology and alternative energy.

Experts agreed that although progress has been made, there are still many challenges ahead for the four countries in terms of trade.

The BRIC-Think Tank seminar will last until Thursday.