The BRICS, a grouping of world's fastest growing emerging economies, is open to consider, if necessary, providing financial support for sovereign debt crisis ridden Europe.
However, any such support would have to be routed through international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and would depend on individual country circumstances.
This is reflected in a joint communiqué issued by the BRICS Finance Ministers' at the end of their meeting in Washington on September 22.
At a post-meeting press conference, the BRICS Finance Ministers made it clear that no rescue funds are imminent, defeating recent suggestions that Brazil and China may purchase European sovereign debt so as to ease the strain in the financial markets.
The Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said that BRICS would go with any ‘G20 consensus', implying that the Grouping would not launch by themselves any rescue efforts.
The BRICS, at a meeting in Washington, also expressed concern over the slow pace of quota and governance reforms in the IMF.
Quota review
“The implementation of the 2010 reform is lagging. We must also move ahead with the comprehensive review of the quota formula by January 2013 and the completion of the next review of quotas by January 2014. This is needed to increase the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Fund.
“We reiterate our support for measures to protect the voice and representation of the IMF's poorest members. We call on the IMF to make its surveillance more integrated and even-handed,” the joint communiqué said.