Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Lilva on Wednesday called for the first summit of major emerging-market countries to be held next year in Russia. The so-called BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—have sought to create a bigger role for themselves in addressing the global financial crisis, which was sparked by mortgage problems in the United States. “The financial crisis, which we haven't started and we are not to blame for, affected the global economic situation, and we are forced to react,” Medvedev told reporters after signing a joint declaration with Lula in Rio de Janeiro. “We agreed with President Lula that we will coordinate our efforts with Brazil in fighting the crisis and creating a new global financial architecture.” The world's four biggest emerging markets met as a group for the first time at a Group of 20 (G20) meeting of finance ministers in Sao Paulo this month and issued a joint statement calling for a greater role in world affairs and the global economy. Lula and Medvedev did not say whether China and India had agreed to the 2009 summit. “BRIC is an important force in discussing global problems. We have high expectations from the BRIC summit,” Lula said. “We, the developing countries, should not allow the crisis to harm our development. We must jointly with India, China, and Russia help the world to get out of the crisis.” The two leaders also signed agreements on military technology cooperation and on visa-free travel between the two countries for short visits. Medvedev is scheduled to arrive late Wednesday in Venezuela, a key buyer of Russian weapons, and later this week in Cuba as Russia tries to reassert itself in a region that has grown more distant from the United States in recent years. A group of Russian warships arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday to conduct joint naval exercises.
