After a two-day meeting of heads of state and government in Johannesburg, South Africa, the 10th BRIC Summit ends with two important achievements for the Brazilian productive sector, in the assessment of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). The first is an agreement for the opening of a regional office of the BRIC bank, the New Development Bank (NDB) in Brazil. And the second is cooperation between the bloc’s economies in the area of regional aviation.
In the evaluation of the industry, represented by the CNI, the agreements are important to foment business and to increase investments between the countries, in infrastructure and in the aeronautical sector. BRICS is the group that brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The creation of the NDB was formalized in 2014 during the group’s sixth meeting in Fortaleza, Ceará. The BRICS bank was inaugurated in July 2015, based in Shanghai, with the aim of financing infrastructure projects of countries in the bloc and other developing economies.
The regional office of the Americas is expected to be inaugurated in Brazil in 2018. The agreement was signed by Foreign Ministers Aloysio Nunes Ferreira and Fazenda Eduardo Guardia.
For CNI, the new office will tighten the BRICs’ relationship with the Brazilian private sector. In practice, this approach will help companies seek financing for infrastructure projects aimed at sustainable development.
In the case of regional aviation, a memorandum of understanding was signed to promote the sector. From this document, which has been working for two years, countries can develop projects to expand business opportunities. CNI considers that, since four of the five countries of the group are continental, its market for domestic flights offers potential for Brazilian aircraft exports, for example.
In 2019, Brazil will host, for the third time, the BRIC summit.
