XIAMEN, China                                                                                                                                                                                   04 Sept. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                     (Xinhua)

Following is the full text of BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration released on Monday:

BRICS Leaders Xiamen Declaration

Xiamen, China, 4 September 2017

1. We, the Leaders of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa, met on 4 September 2017 in Xiamen, China, at the Ninth BRICS Summit. Under the theme “BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future”, we endeavor to build on our achievements already made with a shared vision for future development of BRICS. We also discussed international and regional issues of common concern and adopted the Xiamen Declaration by consensus.

2. We reiterate that it is the overarching objective and our desire for peace, security, development and cooperation that brought us together 10 years ago. BRICS countries have since traversed a remarkable journey together on their respective development paths tailored to their national circumstances, devoted to growing their economies and improving people’s livelihoods. Our committed and concerted efforts have generated a momentum of all-dimensional and multi-layered cooperation fostered by the previous Leaders’ Summits. Upholding development and multilateralism, we are working together for a more just, equitable, fair, democratic and representative international political and economic order.

3. Our cooperation since 2006 has fostered the BRICS spirit featuring mutual respect and understanding, equality, solidarity, openness, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation, which is our valuable asset and an inexhaustible source of strength for BRICS cooperation. We have shown respect for the development paths of our respective choices, and rendered understanding and support to each other’s interests. We have upheld equality and solidarity. We have also embraced openness and inclusiveness, dedicated to forging an open world economy. We have furthered our cooperation with emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs). We have worked together for mutually beneficial outcomes and common development, constantly deepening BRICS practical cooperation which benefits the world at large.

4. We draw satisfaction from the many fruitful results of our cooperation, including establishing the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), formulating the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership, strengthening political and security cooperation including through Meetings of BRICS High Representatives for Security Issues and Foreign Ministers Meetings, and deepening the traditional ties of friendship amongst our peoples.

5. Recalling our Summits in Ufa and Goa, we will work together to further enhance BRICS strategic partnership for the welfare of our peoples. We commit ourselves to build upon the outcomes and consensus of our previous Summits with unwavering conviction, so as to usher in the second golden decade of BRICS cooperation and solidarity.

6. Believing in the broad development prospects of our countries and the vast potential of our cooperation, we have full confidence in the future of BRICS. We commit to further strengthen our cooperation.

— We will energize our practical cooperation to boost development of BRICS countries. We will, inter alia, promote exchanges of good practices and experiences on development, and facilitate market inter-linkages as well as infrastructure and financial integration to achieve interconnected development. We shall also strive towards broad partnerships with EMDCs, and in this context, we will pursue equal-footed and flexible practices and initiatives for dialogue and cooperation with non-BRICS countries, including through BRICS Plus cooperation.

— We will enhance communication and coordination in improving global economic governance to foster a more just and equitable international economic order. We will work towards enhancement of the voice and representation of BRICS countries and EMDCs in global economic governance and promote an open, inclusive and balanced economic globalization, thus contributing towards development of EMDCs and providing strong impetus to redressing North-South development imbalances and promoting global growth.

— We will emphasize fairness and justice to safeguard international and regional peace and stability. We will stand firm in upholding a fair and equitable international order based on the central role of the United Nations, the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and respect for international law, promoting democracy and the rule of law in international relations, and making joint efforts to address common traditional and non-traditional security challenges, so as to build a brighter shared future for the global community.

— We will embrace cultural diversity and promote people-to-people exchanges to garner more popular support for BRICS cooperation through deepened traditional friendships. We will expand people-to-people exchanges in all dimensions, encourage all fabrics of the society to participate in BRICS cooperation, promote mutual learning between our cultures and civilizations, enhance communication and mutual understanding among our peoples and deepen traditional friendships, thus making BRICS partnership closer to our people’s hearts.

BRICS Practical Economic Cooperation

7. We note that against the backdrop of more solid global economic growth, enhanced resilience and emerging new drivers, BRICS countries continue to play an important role as engines of global growth. Noting the uncertainties and downside risks that persist, we emphasize the need to be vigilant in guarding against inward-looking policies and tendencies that are weighing on global growth prospects and market confidence. We call upon all countries to calibrate and communicate their macroeconomic and structural policies and strengthen policy coordination.

8. We note that practical economic cooperation has traditionally served as a foundation of BRICS cooperation, notably through implementing the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership and initiatives related to its priority areas such as trade and investment, manufacturing and minerals processing, infrastructure connectivity, financial integration, science, technology and innovation, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cooperation, among others. We welcome the first report on the implementation of the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership, and the broad package of outcomes delivered by the sectoral ministerial meetings. We commit to use all policy tools -fiscal, monetary and structural -and adopt innovation-driven development strategies to enhance resilience and potentials of our economies, so as to contribute to strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive global growth.

9. Stressing the role of enhanced trade and investment cooperation in unleashing the potential of BRICS economies, we agree to improve and broaden trade and investment cooperation mechanism and scope, with a view to enhancing BRICS economic complementarity and diversification in BRICS countries. We welcome the positive outcomes of the 7th BRICS Trade Ministers Meeting in terms of the cooperative frameworks, roadmaps and outlines on trade and investment facilitation and connectivity and enhanced policy sharing, information exchange, capacity building, through enhanced joint efforts on trade and investment facilitation, trade in services, E-commerce, IPR (in synergy with the cooperation activities among BRICS IP authorities), economic and technical cooperation, SMEs and women economic empowerment. We welcome the setting up of the BRICS E-Port Network that will operate on a voluntary basis and the establishment of the BRICS E-commerce Working Group. We also welcome China’s initiative to host an International Import Expo in 2018 and encourage our business communities to actively participate in it.

10. We stress the importance of enhancing BRICS financial cooperation to better serve the real economy and meet the development needs of BRICS countries. We note the agreement by the finance ministers and central bank governors on cooperation on Public Private Partnerships (PPP), including through PPP experience exchange and application of the BRICS Good Practices on PPP Frameworks. We acknowledge the establishment of a temporary task force to conduct technical discussion on various ways of cooperation, including utilizing existing facilities of the MDBs based on national experiences, exploring the possibility of establishing a new PPP Project Preparation Fund and other options. We encourage cooperation and coordination by our accounting standards setters and audit regulators and agree to explore convergence of accounting standards and continue discussion on cooperation on auditing oversight in the area of bond issuance, so as to lay the groundwork for bond market connectivity among BRICS countries, with due regard to applicable national legislation and policies. We agree to promote the development of BRICS Local Currency Bond Markets and jointly establish a BRICS Local Currency Bond Fund, as a means of contribution to the capital sustainability of financing in BRICS countries, boosting the development of BRICS domestic and regional bond markets, including by increasing foreign private sector participation, and enhancing financial resilience of BRICS countries.

11. In order to serve the demand arising from rapid growth of trade and investment among the BRICS countries, we agree to facilitate financial market integration through promoting the network of financial institutions and the coverage of financial services within BRICS countries, subject to each country’s existing regulatory framework and WTO obligations, and to ensure greater communication and cooperation between financial sector regulators. We agree to take an active part in the efforts to implement and improve International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation in FATF, including through cooperation among BRICS Heads of Delegation on AML/CFT, also in the context of the work of BRICS CTWG and by using other platforms and to safeguard integrity of national financial systems. We agree to communicate closely to enhance currency cooperation, consistent with each central bank’s legal mandate, including through currency swap, local currency settlement, and local currency direct investment, where appropriate, and to explore more modalities of currency cooperation. We encourage the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism to continue playing an important role in supporting BRICS economic and trade cooperation. We commend the progress in concluding the Memoranda of Understanding among national development banks of BRICS countries on interbank local currency credit line and on interbank cooperation in relation to credit rating.

12. We highlight the importance of innovation as a key driver for mid and long term economic growth and global sustainable development. We commit to promote cooperation on science, technology and innovation (STI) to forge synergy in tapping new growth momentum for our five economies and continue to address the development challenges we face. We commend the selection of BRICS research and development projects under the BRICS STI Framework Program and note the launch of the 2nd call for projects. We welcome the BRICS STI Cooperation MOU and support enhanced cooperation on innovation and entrepreneurship, including by promoting technology transfer and application, cooperation among science and technology parks and enterprises as well as mobility of researchers, entrepreneurs, professionals and students. We encourage increased participation of the academia, businesses, civil society and other stakeholders in this process, and support the promotion of STI investment and cross-border investment through existing funding, institutions and platforms including the NDB. We agree to continue to work on a cooperation platform for innovation and entrepreneurship and support the implementation of the BRICS Innovation Cooperation Action Plan 2017-2020.

13. We reaffirm our commitment to BRICS industrial cooperation, including on industrial capacities and policies, new industrial infrastructure and standards, and among small, micro and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs), so as to jointly seize the opportunities brought about by the new industrial revolution and expedite our respective industrialization processes. We encourage exploring the establishment of BRICS Institute of Future networks. We will enhance joint BRICS research, development and innovation in ICT including the Internet of Things, Cloud computing, Big Data, Data Analytics, Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence and 5G and their innovative applications to elevate the level of ICT infrastructure and connectivity in our countries. We will advocate the establishment of internationally applicable rules for security of ICT infrastructure, data protection and the Internet that can be widely accepted by all parties concerned, and jointly build a network that is safe and secure. We will increase investment of ICT, recognize the need to further increase investment in ICT Research and development, unleash the dynamics of innovation in producing goods and services. We encourage identification and facilitation of partnership between institutes, organizations, enterprises in the implementation of proof of concepts and pilot projects by leveraging complementary strengths in ICT hardware, software and skills through developing next generation of innovative solutions in the areas of smart cities, health care and energy efficient device, etc. We support active collaboration in implementing the BRICS ICT Development Agenda and Action Plan.

14. We reaffirm our commitment to fully implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We will also advocate equitable, open, all-round, innovation-driven and inclusive development, to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions -economic, social and environmental-in a balanced and integrated manner. We support the important role of the United Nations, including the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), in coordinating and reviewing global implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and support the need to reform the UN Development System with a view to enhancing its capability in supporting Member States in implementing the 2030 Agenda. We urge developed countries to honor their Official Development Assistance commitments in time and in full and provide more development resources to developing countries.

15. Underlining the strategic importance of energy to economic development, we commit to strengthen BRICS cooperation on energy. We recognize that sustainable development, energy access, and energy security are critical to the shared prosperity and future of the planet. We acknowledge that clean and renewable energy needs to be affordable to all. We will work to foster open, flexible and transparent markets for energy commodities and technologies. We will work together to promote most effective use of fossil fuels and wider use of gas, hydro and nuclear power, which will contribute to the transformation toward a low emissions economy, better energy access, and sustainable development. In this regard, we underline the importance of predictability in accessing technology and finance for expansion of civil nuclear energy capacity which would contribute to sustainable development in BRICS countries. We encourage continued dialogue on the establishment of a BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform and urge relevant entities to continue to promote joint research on energy cooperation and energy efficiency.

16. We commit to further promote green development and low-carbon economy, in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, enhance BRICS cooperation on climate change and expand green financing. We call upon all countries to fully implement the Paris Agreement adopted under the principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) including the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and urge developed countries to provide financial, technological and capacity-building support to developing countries to enhance their capability in mitigation and adaptation.

17. Stressing the importance of environmental cooperation to sustainable development of our countries and the well-being of our peoples, we agree to take concrete actions to advance result-oriented cooperation in such areas as prevention of air and water pollution, waste management and biodiversity conservation. We recognize the importance of an environmentally sound technology platform and of improving urban environmental sustainability, and support BRICS joint efforts in this regard. Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa appreciate and support China’s hosting of the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2020.

18. Noting the fruitful agricultural cooperation over the past years, we recognize the unique characteristics and complementarity of BRICS countries in agricultural development and vast cooperation potential in this area. In this connection, we agree to deepen cooperation in the five priority areas such as food security and nutrition, adaptation of agriculture to climate change, agricultural technology cooperation and innovation, agricultural trade and investment, and ICT application in agriculture to contribute to stable global agricultural growth and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. We welcome the establishment in India of the Coordination Center of BRICS Agriculture Research Platform, a virtual network which will facilitate addressing these priority areas.

19. We express concern over the challenges faced by the African continent in achieving independent and sustainable development and in wildlife conservation. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthen cooperation with Africa and help the continent to address illegal wildlife trade, promote employment, food security, infrastructure development and industrialization including through connectivity and developmental initiatives and projects. We reaffirm our strong support for African Union’s implementation of its various programs under Agenda 2063 in pursuit of its continental agenda for peace and socio-economic development.

20. Keenly aware of the negative impact of corruption on sustainable development, we support the efforts to enhance BRICS anti-corruption cooperation. We reaffirm our commitment to intensify dialogue and experience sharing and support compiling a compendium on fighting corruption in BRICS countries. We further acknowledge that illegal flow of the proceeds of corruption impairs economic development and financial stability, and support enhanced cooperation in asset recovery. We support the strengthening of international cooperation against corruption, including through the BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group, as well as on matters related to asset recovery and persons sought for corruption. We acknowledge that corruption including illicit money and financial flows, and ill-gotten wealth stashed in foreign jurisdictions is a global challenge which may impact negatively on economic growth and sustainable development. We will strive to coordinate our approach in this regard and encourage a stronger global commitment to prevent and combat corruption on the basis of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and other relevant international legal instruments.

21. Living in the era of digital economy, we are ready to use opportunities it provides and address challenges it poses for the global growth. We will act on the basis of principles of innovation, partnership, synergy, flexibility, open and favorable business environment, trust and security, protection of consumer rights in order to ensure the conditions for a thriving and dynamic digital economy, that will foster global economic development and benefit everyone.

22. We appreciate the efforts and contribution of the BRICS Business Council and Business Forum to strengthening our economic cooperation in infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, financial services, e-commerce, alignment of technical standards and skills development. We welcome the establishment of a working group on regional aviation within the framework of the Business Council and in this connection acknowledge the Brazil’s proposal on an MOU on regional aviation partnership. We encourage business communities and associations to actively participate in BRICS cooperation, and give full play to their role as trade and investment facilitation institutions in promoting mutually beneficial cooperation.

23. We recognize the importance of transformation that is taking place in the labor market and the opportunities and challenges it brings. We note with satisfaction the progress in BRICS cooperation with regard to human resources, employment and social security, fostering strong labor market information systems and networking of BRICS of Labor Research Institutes and BRICS Social Security Cooperation Framework. We welcome the achievement of a BRICS common position on governance in the future of work and agree to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in ensuring full employment, promoting decent work, advancing poverty alleviation and reduction through skills development and achieving universal and sustainable social security systems.

24. We recognize the importance of competition protection to ensure the efficient social and economic development of our countries, to stimulate innovative processes and to provide quality products to our consumers. We note the significance of the interaction between the Competition Authorities of our countries, in particular, in identifying and suppressing restrictive business practices that are of a transboundary nature.

25. We note with satisfaction the progress made by Customs Administrations in their cooperation on trade facilitation, security and enforcement, capacity building and other issues of mutual interest, including through such mechanisms as BRICS Customs Cooperation Committee and BRICS Customs Working Group. We encourage broadened cooperation under the guiding principles of mutual sharing of information, mutual recognition of customs control, and mutual assistance in enforcement so as to boost growth and promote people’s welfare. In order to strengthen mutual cooperation in customs matters, we reaffirm our commitment to finalize BRICS Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement at the earliest.

26. We adhere to the principle of utilizing outer space for peaceful purposes and emphasize the need to strengthen the international cooperation in space activities in order to use space technologies to respond to global climate change, environmental protection, disaster prevention and relief and other challenges faced by humankind.

27. Recalling the Saint-Petersburg and Udaipur Declarations of BRICS Ministers for Disaster Management and the decision to establish a BRICS Joint Taskforce on Disaster Risk Management, we underline the importance of consistent joint work of emergency services of BRICS countries aimed at building a safer future by reducing existing disaster risks, including exchange of information on best practices concerning disaster risk management and cooperation in the field of forecasting and early warning for effective response to natural and human induced disasters.

28. We note with satisfaction the progress in BRICS cooperation in such fields as audit, statistics and export credit and agree to further advance cooperation in these fields.