First summit for emerging giants

--BBC--

Russia and China have questioned the future dominance of the dollar The world's newest economic grouping is to hold its first summit in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on Tuesday. Bric is named after its four member states - emerging giants Brazil, Russia, India and China. They are expected to put efforts to improve the global economy at the top of the agenda. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield Hayes, in Russia, says Bric's main goal is to force the West to give greater recognition to the developing giants. China is now the world's third biggest economy, while Russia, India and Brazil are catching up with many key European economies. The term Bric was coined by US investment bank Goldman Sachs which used it to describe the growing power of emerging market economies in 2001. Its research suggested that the four developing economies could be amongst the world's strongest by 2050. The meeting in Yekaterinburg, a city some 1,420km (880 miles) east of Moscow, will include presidents Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, Hu Jintao of China, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Working together Analysts say that as the global recession bites, the four Bric nations are showing a growing willingness to work together. Rory MacFarquhar, a Moscow-based economist at Goldman Sachs, said the significance of the summit would be political rather than economic. China is now the world's third largest economy "There is considerable interest, you could say from all (the Bric) countries but Russia in particular, in creating an alternative" to established international organisations, he said. Both Russia and China have questioned the role of the dollar in the world's economy, leading to speculation that Bric might be considering the creation of a new global reserve currency. However, on Sunday a Kremlin spokesman said that would not be on the agenda. Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Tuesday's meeting would focus more on ways to reform international financial institutions. His remarks led to a rise in the value of the dollar on international markets. However, the BBC's business reporter Katie Hunt says that fears that such big holders of dollar assets may be looking to switch from the US currency have unsettled financial markets and US politicians.