BRICS think tanks agree to enhance exchanges

Five think tanks from the BRICS countries, including one from India, today signed a memorandum to begin exchanges and conduct joint research.
The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the seminar on BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) governance in Fujian province prior to the ninth BRICS Summit to be held in Xiamen, China from September 3 to 5.
The five think tanks are China International Publishing Group, The Thinker Magazine of South Africa, Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Delhi's Department of East Asian Studies and China-Brazil Center for Research and Business, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the deal, the five will share research information, arrange exchanges between researchers beginning next year, hold joint research every year on mutually- interested topics, and co-organise academic seminars.
Wang Gangyi, deputy director of China International Publishing Group, said BRICS think tanks needed to cooperate more as the BRICS mechanism enters its second decade.
Substantial research and advice is needed to promote BRICS to become a new leading platform for South-South cooperation and global governance, the report said.
The BRICS forum, an independent international organisation encouraging commercial, political and cultural cooperation between the five-member nations, was formed in 2011.