India will host BRICS trade ministers on Thursday before the BRICS summit in Goa. (File)
An important framework to enhance economic cooperation will be brought into force when trade ministers of BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa - meet on Thursday in Goa. The session will be hosted by India's Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who will meet her counterparts from other BRICS member nations.
The ministers will adopt the framework for cooperation in the fields of small and medium enterprises, services sector, intellectual property rights (IPR), trade promotion, non-tariff measures resolution and adoption of uniform standards, according to an Indian official.
The participating ministers will also select a template for the BRICS - single window cooperation which will help boost trade in services. The decision to adopt a 'single window' assumes more significance as India recently proposed a trade facilitation agreement in services in the World Trade Organisation.
The meeting on October 13 will be followed by the BRICS summit to be held on October 15-16 in Goa. Ms Sitharaman will hold bilateral deliberations with all trade ministers before the summit.
The BRICS has emerged as one of the most significant trading bloc in recent years. Its members host 42 per cent of the world's population, and have a combined Gross Domestic Product of over 16 trillion dollars. Trade within the bloc grew to 297 billion dollars in 2014, from 280 billion dollars in 2012.
In a first, to promote intra-BRICS trade, India has organized a trade fair on the same day as the summit. It will provide member nations an opportunity to showcase state-of-the-art technologies and advances in industrial design and development.
Leaders from BIMSTEC countries (Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal) have also been invited for meeting and discussion with BRICS business leaders during the fair.