BRICS to Take A Call On Euro Debt: Gopalan
Baku, September 20 (AZERTAC). Finance ministers of the BRICS countries will take a call on supporting the euro zone at a meeting in Washington later this month, R. Gopalan, economic affairs secretary in India`s Ministry of Finance, told reporters on Wednesday.
The BRICS is a grouping of Brazil, China, Russia, India and South Africa. The group of big emerging economies is scheduled to meet on the sidelines of meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington later this month.
A senior Brazilian government official told Reuters on Tuesday that the BRICS major emerging economies are in preliminary talks on increasing their holdings of euro-denominated bonds to help ease Europe`s debt crisis.
The talks are still in a "preliminary stage," said the source, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are ongoing. The official said any action would not involve "the majority" of countries` reserves, but did not provide additional details.
Another government official said Brazil did not intend to use its around $355 billion in international reserves to buy European debt but could use its sovereign debt fund, which is allowed to take on more risky investments.
The sovereign fund had a value of 15.4 billion reais ($9 billion) in August, most of which was tied up in stock investments. The source said it could receive a capital boost from the Treasury as part of any assistance plan.
Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said finance ministers and central bank presidents from the BRICS members would discuss the euro zone crisis at a Sept. 22 meeting in Washington.
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