BRIC nations to rescue global economy: Russia

BRIC nations will become the "locomotive" to pull the global economy out of the current crisis as two major countries of the bloc -- India and China -- have suffered least from the downturn, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has said.

"BRIC nations will be among the first, who, like a locomotive, will begin to pull out the world economy from the crisis. This is not just the wishful thinking, they are dynamically emerging economies," Ivanov said on Tuesday.

Brazil, Russia, India and China clubbed as BRIC are to hold their first-ever stand alone summit on June 16 in Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains.

"China and India have least suffered from the current global upheaval. With Brazil, the situation is a bit complex as they are tied to the US economy. As compared to our Asian

partners in BRIC, the Russian economy has seen serious downturn," Ivanov said ahead of World Economic Forum in St. Petersburg beginning Thursday.

He said that in the coming years the BRIC nations would intensify their economic interaction, specially in the fields of science and technology.

Ivanov cited the example of Russia-India cooperation in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and space cooperation.