BRICS News

Rouhani, Putin and Erdogan say the end of the war in Syria is at hand [PPIO]
The Presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey have concluded a tripartite summit on Syria in Sochi and say there is a real chance for peace now that the Islamic State has been largely defeated.
With IS forces routed in Syria (and Iraq), a cessation of hostilities in full effect, and hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees returning home, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that there is a real chance a political settlement will end the seven-year civil war.

Al Assad meets with Putin in Sochi, Russia on Tuesday November 21, 2017 [PPIO]
Russian President Vladimir Putin will call his American counterpart after Syrian President Bashar Al Assad concludes his trip to the Russian port city of Sochi.
“Already a talk is planned with the emir of Qatar and tomorrow—with the President of the U.S. Donald Trump, while afterwards (I will speak) with leaders from countries in the region,” a statement from the Kremlin quoted Putin on Tuesday.

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei (C), Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong (R) and President of the New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS K.V. Kamath attend the launching ceremony of the bank in Shanghai, east China, July 21, 2015 [Xinhua]
The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) has approved two loans – for a water infrastructure project in India and the other is for a transport infrastructure project in Russia.
The Board of Directors (BoD) of the NDB approved two infrastructure projects with a loan value of US$413.8 million during the 12th BoD meeting in Shanghai on November 20.

A satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the size and intensity of Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful to hit the Asia-Pacific region
China and the US are collaborating to set up a mechanism to predict extreme weather patterns.

Russia has vetoes 11 draft resolutions on Syria which it says are unfair and biased, often following “fabricated” evidence [Xinhua]
Russia has for the second time this week vetoed a draft resolution in the Security Council aimed at renewing the mandate of the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), which investigates chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
The vetoed drafted presented by Japan to the Security Council on Saturday was designed to give JIM a temporary extension to continue its work.

South African bulk exports surged by 30.7 per cent y/y in October to a new record
Is the South African economy finally turning a corner? [Xinhua]
The recent data point to a resurgent South African economy after it exited a technical recession in the second quarter. Bulk exports surged by 30.7 per cent year-on-year (y/y) to a new record of 16.7 million metric tonnes (Mt) in October after a 5.1 per cent y/y gain in the first nine months of this year and a 2.8 per cent drop in 2016.

China and ASEAN have for years been discussing a code of conduct in the South China Sea, but now they are closer than ever on a unified document [Xinhua]
The question of territorial rights in the South China Sea has taken center stage at the 20th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders’ meeting hosted by the Philippine capital Manila, as it has in recent years.
But China is slowly making headway with its neighbors to resolve outstanding territorial disputes over access to the strategic body of water that straddles, Vietnam, Laos, Japan, Philippines and China.

Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have strongly endorsed people exchanges [Xinhua]
Answering the call for greater intercultural exchanges between citizens of BRICS countries at the last Summit in Xiamen, Chinese and Russian cities are examining ways to establish visa-free travel between them.

Putin and Trump have spoken three times about Syria, but met very briefly at the APEC Leader’s Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam November 11, 2017 [PPIO]
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump issued a statement on the sidelines of the APEC Summit late Saturday in which they outlined their joint vision to ending the civil war in Syria.

Xi believes that historic and cultural ties bond the people and governments of China and Vietnam [Xinhua]
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi early Sunday for his second state visit to Vietnam.
This comes following his visit to the city of Da Nang, where he participated in the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting.