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The BRIC countries are made up of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The acronym has come into widespread use as a symbol of the shift in global economic power away from the developed G7 economies toward the developing world. The BRICs are both the fastest growing and largest emerging markets economies. The four countries, combined, currently account for more than a quarter of the world's land area and for almost three billion people, or just under half of the total population of the world. In June 2009, the leaders of the BRIC countries held their first summit in Yekaterinburg, the second meeting was held in April 2010 in Brasilia.
Given the dramatic changes in Africa’s interntional relations with the BRIC countries, the panel will consider the following questions:
• How can African countries, individually or collectively, go about harnessing the new relationship with the BRIC countries to construct a paradigm of globalization favorable to the continent?
• What are the challenges, opportunities and critical interventions that African governments must put in place in order to take advantage of the growing economic engagement of the continent with the BRIC countries?
• Would Brazil, China, India and Russia really represent the interest of developing countries (Africa in particular) in the G-20 and other international foras?
• Will the increasing engagement of the BRIC countries with Africa help the continent reduce its dependence on the West and give it more economic options, which should lead to increased efforts towards poverty reduction?
• Will the new wave of investment from the BRIC countries displace existing industries in Africa? Or will firms investing in Africa form forward and backward linkages and stimulate technology transfer to indigenous African firms?
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