Russia, India and China (RIC) stand for emerging market countries’ greater role in the global economy’s governance and the quickest reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after a three-country ministerial meeting.
“Developing countries are an important driving force of the world economy,” he said at the trilateral foreign ministers meeting in Beijing.
“We call for improving the system of the global economy’s governance, enhancing the voting power of developing countries’ representatives and implementing the 2010 decisions on the IMF’s reform as quickly as possible,” TASS quoted him as saying.
The leaders of the G20 Group agreed in Seoul in 2010 on reviewing the IMF’s quotas in favor of emerging market and developing countries to better reflect ongoing changes in the world.
The IMF’s 14th quota review stipulates that the Fund’s quotas should be doubled from 238.4 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to SDR 476.8 billion. The review also envisages a more than 6% quota shift from over-represented developed countries to under-represented developing countries.
The United States, which has a quota of 17.69% of SDRs and 16.75% of votes, has not ratified the quota review until now.
IMF governors earlier said they were discontent over the US Congress’s delay in ratifying the Fund’s 14th quota review in favor of emerging market and developing counties.
“In the current situation, the international community should safeguard the goals and principles of the UN Charter, respect the right of the peoples of all countries in the world to the choice of the way of their development,” he said.
“Our countries have reached agreements on cooperation in five areas, including the establishment of think tanks and efforts to intensify interaction between business circles, as well as cooperation in agriculture, the elimination of consequences of natural disasters and health care,” the Chinese foreign minister said.
Besides holding talks with top Chinese leadership, Swaraj, who attended the RIC foreign ministers meeting, said that the three countries reached a broader understanding to fight terrorism.
Russia and China also extended their backing for India’s inclusion in the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as well as Shanghai Cooperation Organization besides supporting its aspiration to play a greater role in the UN.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier the positions of Russia, India and China were close to each other or coincided on the situation in the world and further cooperation.
