BRICS summit produces outcome documents on trade cooperation

The member countries of the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – held a summit from 3 to 5 September. The Xiamen declaration, published at the end of the meeting, contains language on how to strengthen cooperation and covers topics from global economic governance to international peace and stability. The member countries committed to expand converging interests in trade and investment and to support the multilateral trade system embodied in the WTO. More specifically, members intend to strengthen coordination on positions towards the upcoming Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference. Among the outcome documents of the meeting, there is a BRICS Action Agenda on Economic and Trade Cooperation, a BRICS Trade in Services Cooperation Roadmap and a BRICS E-commerce cooperation initiative.