The sharpest and the most explicit critique of the US in Ufa Delcaration is its failure to ratify the IMF 2010 reform package. The second major criticism is over the on-going furore over governance of the internet. The BRICS countries see the ICT sector as a critical platform they can leverage in their transition from emerging to developed economies.
The Russian presidency of the BRICS concluded with the Ufa declaration on the 9th of July, 2015. The declaration reaffirmed the BRICS stance on three issues – first, the need for the five countries to strengthen their economic cooperation; second, to keep in check the influence of the United States in geo-politics and geo-economics; and third, increasing the role played by the UN in world affairs.
Increased economic cooperation
The theme of the seventh BRICS summit was “BRICS Partnership- a Powerful Factor of Global Development”. The declaration thus begins by formally marking the entry of the newly- established New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserves Arrangement. Building on this, the strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership was adopted on the 9th of July which will provide the guiding principles for increased economic cooperation amongst member countries in the following areas-trade and investment; manufacturing and minerals processing; energy; agricultural; science, technology and innovation; financial cooperation; connectivity and ICT cooperation. In order to make this process a success, five critical tools were identified- (i) expanding the use of respective national currencies in transactions amongst BRICS; (ii) a Framework for BRICS E-Commerce Cooperation to promote current and future initiatives; (iii) Initiative on Strengthening IPR Cooperation amongst members; (iv) the establishment of an annual BRICS Expert Credit Agencies (ECAs) meet to promote exports among BRICS and to other nations; and (v) establishing a BRICS working group on ICT cooperation.
The BRICS members have also backed the ambitious targets of the post-2015 development agenda and stated that the commitment to eradicate poverty should be adhered to by all countries. However, as an Overseas Development Report points out, there is an annual $73 billion funding gap to meet health, education and social security targets, specified in the post-2015 agenda. The declaration makes clear the displeasure of the emerging economies and asks the developed world to honour its commitments towards Official Development Assistance. In this context, the role of South-South cooperation too has been emphasised to complement the efforts of North-South cooperation i.e. the members see collaboration amongst Developing & Emerging Economies (such as the NDB and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) as a tool to supplement the efforts of existing global structures.
Critique of U.S. policy
The sharpest and the most explicit critique of the United States is its failure to ratify the IMF 2010 reform package. The BRICS members, along with a host of other developing and emerging economies, have demanded that voting rights at the Bretton Woods Institutions be more representative of the new world order in which the developing countries play a significant role i.e. global governance through multilateral bodies need to be democratized. The U.S Congress has thus far not paid heed to these demands, much to the frustration of the Global South, particularly the BRICS.
The second major criticism is over the on-going furore over governance of the internet. As highlighted earlier, the BRICS countries see the ICT sector as a critical platform they can leverage in their transition from emerging to developed economies. However, they have expressed their condemnation of mass electronic surveillance and data collection and called for the U.N. to play a critical role on the issue of internet security. On the broader issue of internet governance, there is no mention of the role of The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or International Telecommunication Union (ITU), suggesting the grouping is yet to come to a consensus on the issue.
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