BRICS. Brazil, China and Russia strengthen financial dialogue

The finance ministers of Brazil, China and Russia agreed on Thursday to strengthen financial dialogue, on the eve of the BRICS leaders' summit, at a time when the group's countries are seeking to reduce their dependence on the dollar.

Fernando Haddad received the Chinese Finance Minister, Lan Fo'an, with whom he agreed to sign a memorandum to “strengthen dialogue and financial cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels”, according to a note released by the New Development Bank (NDB), the development bank of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, which is headquartered in Shanghai, China's financial “capital”.

Both also reaffirmed the commitment of Brazil — which is hosting the World Climate Summit (COP30) this year — and China to combating climate change, expressing support for the ongoing discussions to create a fund for the preservation of tropical forests.

Haddad also met with Russia's Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, with whom he discussed “the state of the global economy and the progress of the BRICS group”, which includes Brazil, China, Russia and other major economies of the so-called Global South.

The two officials agreed on the “need to explore opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation and exchange experiences and good practices”.

In this context, they signed a memorandum of understanding “for the establishment of an economic and financial dialogue, at a technical level, between the two countries”, similar to those that Brazil maintains “with other relevant partners”.

This year, Brazil holds the rotating presidency of the BRICS.

Haddad will host the 1st meeting of finance ministers and central bank presidents of the group, as well as the 10th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the New Development Bank, which will take place between this Friday and Saturday, in Rio de Janeiro.

Both meetings precede the BRICS leaders' summit, which will take place over the next two days, without the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

BRICS is a forum for diplomatic and economic cooperation, whose full members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Iran and Indonesia, in addition to Saudi Arabia, whose membership has not yet been formalized.