Address by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon
on BRICs in the New World Order

13/05/2009

(ORF Conference, May 13, 2009)

Ambassador Rasgotra, Chairman of the Observer Research
Foundation;
Distinguished Participants;
Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for asking me to speak at your conference on ‘BRICs in the new world order’. Once again ORF is serving as a leader of intellectual opinion, and not just in India. Your choice of a subject for this conference is also extremely topical. The number of eminent experts and scholars that you have attracted from the BRIC countries is therefore no surprise.

The BRIC countries as a group have come a long way since the concept was first enunciated in 2001. We have maintained our high rates of growth and increased our integration with the world, in good economic times and bad. We have also moved to institutionalize our meetings and interactions. Last year, in 2008, we held the first stand alone meeting of BRIC foreign ministers. This year we look forward to the first summit meeting of our leaders next month in Russia.

BRIC was originally an economic concept. When first enunciated it was a grouping of economies which were growing faster than others. We continue to do so. Already BRIC accounts for 40% of the world’s population, 25.9% of its total geographic area, and 40% of global GDP. This proportion is rapidly increasing and Goldman Sachs envisages it growing until “BRIC can become collectively bigger than the G-7 by 2035”.

As the global economy evolves and works its way through the present global financial and economic crisis, the BRIC are a factor of stability and growth. This was already evident in our role during the G-20 deliberations. It seems to me that the role of the BRIC countries in the global economy will only increase. I am, therefore, happy to see that you are considering the contribution that our countries can make to restoring financial stability, and to finding solutions to the global problems of our time such as poverty, hunger and disease, through food security and energy security and sustainable development.

Increasingly the world itself is coming to espouse views that we share among the BRIC countries. For instance, it is now widely appreciated that globalization, development and economic processes cannot be left solely to the mercies of an unregulated free market. It is also now generally accepted that larger considerations of public good require both globalization and growth to be inclusive. In addition, it is becoming clearer and clearer that international decision-making on global economic issues must necessarily be democratized to reflect present realities.

As we look outwards at the world, we also look inwards among ourselves at the complementarities between our economies. These are considerable thanks to the differing patterns of growth and the stages of development that we find ourselves in. We are richly endowed collectively in terms of natural resources and other factors of production, and are today in a position to sustain our higher growth rates. Combined with our growing middle classes and the young populations that most of us enjoy, the BRIC can hope to be a factor of growth and stability in the world economy for decades to come.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When we look at the world around us, to some of us it seems that the world is today at a moment that does not come often, when fundamental shifts occur in the distribution of power within the international system. When these shifts happen, they are rapid, and result in a transformed balance of economic, political and, ultimately, soft power.

We are probably too close and too involved in the present transition to see the wood for the trees. But I would guess that the world is today on the cusp of a new type of multipolarity. As a result of several decades of globalization, we are in an interdependent world. Global flows of goods, people and capital, and the development and dissemination of technology have eroded the autonomy and authority of the state, the old order and old geopolitical realities. What we see is a situation where the major powers simultaneously compete and cooperate with each other, each with all the others, to a greater or lesser degree.

The shift that we are witnessing is probably towards a flatter distribution of power in the world. And this shift is hastened by the geopolitical consequences of the global economic crisis. Unlike previous financial crises which were handled within the closed shop of the G-7 industrialised countries, this crisis is sought to be addressed in the G-20 which includes all the BRIC countries. Existing power holders are always reluctant to share or lose power. This fact alone therefore shows that an unavoidable shift in the balance of economic power is underway, and that the international role of the BRIC countries will increase further.

Politically speaking, the BRIC are far from an alliance or even an organization in the traditional sense. There is, however, increasing congruence in our approach to international issues. Our bilateral relationships have steadily acquired depth and significance and have evolved into strategic partnerships. The sum of our interactions is certainly greater than the parts. The meeting of our Foreign Ministers gave us an opportunity to find common positions on issues of interest to us in the global arena. Today, two of the BRIC countries are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council while the two others have their aspirations. One is in the G-8 and the others are members of the Outreach Five. One or several BRIC members have global competence in manufacturing, knowledge-based economic activity, high-end science and technology and in various aspects of national capabilities. It is the divergences among us that create the complementarities that give us the confidence to work together economically. I am sure that the same complementarities and the evolution of the world situation will lead to increasing political congruence among us in the future.

I do hope that your deliberations in this Conference will consider some of these themes and suggest ways forward for the BRIC.

With these few words, allow me to felicitate you again. With such impressive expertise present, I am sure that your conference will make a major contribution to preparations for the summit meeting of our leaders in June in Russia. Please do be as imaginative and open-minded as possible in looking at the new world order that is being created even as we speak, and in making suggestions for new forms of cooperation amongst our countries.

Thank you.

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