New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) The BRICS group of five emerging economies Thursday voiced concern over the slow pace of governance and quota reforms in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The “dynamic process of reform is necessary to ensure the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Fund,” the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa said in a joint statement after their one-day summit here.
India, for example, has been pressing for changes to the quota system that represent member countries’ voting weight at the IMF as part of broader reform of the global financial system to reflect emerging nations’ growing economic and political clout.
But dominant powers like the US are yet to define their position on the proposals to give developing economies greater voting rights. Further discussions on this are reported to take place in 2014.
“We see an urgent need to implement, as agreed, the 2010 Governance and Quota Reform before the 2012 IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting, as well as the comprehensive review of the quota formula to better reflect economic weights and enhance the voice and representation of emerging market and developing countries by January 2013,” said the BRICS nations, which collectively account for nearly 43 percent of the world’s population and one fifth of the global economy.
“IMF will only be successful if there is confidence that the entire membership of the institution is truly committed to implement the 2010 reform faithfully.”
In a joint statement called “Delhi Declaration”, the BRICS leaders said: “We will work with the international community to ensure that sufficient resources can be mobilised to the IMF in a timely manner as the Fund continues its transition to improve governance and legitimacy.”
“We reiterate our support for measures to protect the voice and representation of the IMF’s poorest members,” the statement released after the fourth BRICS summit said.
