New Delhi, July 13
Looking to present a changed economic atmosphere in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left to attend the five-nation BRICS summit in Brazil, which would be his first multilateral engagement where he would also hold bilateral talks with Russian, Chinese, Brazilian and South African leaders.

The sixth BRICS Summit, being held in Fortaleza and capital Brasilia over two days on July 15-16, is expected to see finalisation of setting up of the long-discussed BRICS bank - a major initiative of the grouping that together represents 18 per cent of the world trade.

The BRICS Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement are seen as an alternative to the Western-dominated financial organisations — the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa accounts for over 40 per cent of the global population and has a combined GDP of $24 trillion.

In a statement before leaving for Berlin en route Fortaleza in Brazil, Prime Minister Modi said he would discuss and address regional crisis and security threats to restore a climate of peace while advancing global economic stability. He said India looked forward to the BRICS initiative for setting up the New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement.

The BRICS Development Bank with a corpus of $100 million will fund projects in a number of countries. Its headquarters may either be in New Delhi or Shanghai.

The summit will be held on July 15 in Fortaleza, one of the host cities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Modi will hold bilateral meetings with Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil and Jacob Zuma of South Africa on the sidelines of the summit. He will also meet the heads of government of 11 South American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela who have been invited by President Dilma Rousseff to Brazil.

Modi is accompanied by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh.

Modi said the meeting was taking place at the time of political turmoil, conflict and human crisis in several parts of the world. There were also persisting weaknesses and unrest in the global economy. Many emerging economies had experienced a slowdown which had increased the challenge of pursuing inclusive and economic development.

“I look at the BRICS Summit as an opportunity to discuss with my BRICS partners how we can contribute to international efforts to address regional crises, address security threats and restore a climate of peace and stability in the world,” he said.

“I also look forward to our discussions to further advance intra-BRICS economic cooperation and our collective efforts to advance global economic stability and prosperity. In particular, I look forward to the successful conclusion of major BRICS initiatives like the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, which have seen significant progress since their launch in New Delhi in 2012,” he said.

Modi said the Summit theme, “Inclusive Growth; Sustainable Development”, will enable us to shape the post-2015 development agenda being discussed in the UN.

He said the summit “will also be an occasion for my first meetings as Prime Minister with the leaders of our important global partners - Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa. I look forward to meaningful meetings with them to intensify bilateral relations and exchange views on global and regional developments.

“South America’s all round progress makes it a potentially important pole of the global economy and a land of enormous opportunities for us. My interactions would enable us to explore new ideas on further consolidating and expanding our ties with South America,” the Prime Minister said.