The 7th BRICS Foundry Forum will be held on March 12-14 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the second forum after the establishment of BRICS Foundry Association and it is also the second time the Forum will be held in South Africa.
On Sep. 9-11, 2015, the fifth BRICS Foundry Forum was successfully held in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
The constitution of the Association was discussed and agreed by leaders and delegates of foundry organizations from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. On Sep. 10, the Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Valery Shantsev participated at the signing ceremony of the constitution, which announced the establishment of BRICS Foundry Association. And the Standing Vice President of China Foundry Association Mr. Zhang Libo was elected as the first president of BRICS Foundry Association. The Secretariat is also set up in China Foundry Association, including organization, technology, alliance standards and project development departments. The five-year plan (2016-2020) has also been made as the guideline for the cooperation of BRICS foundry industry in market, technology and innovation.
The five BRICS nations cover 29.6% of the world area, and 42.3% of the world population. In 2013, the five countries accounted for 21.3% of the world GDP, and 16% of the world foreign trade volume. Their contribution to the global economic growth accounted for more than 50% in the last decade. As the world economic integration develops and the BRICS economic cooperation is becoming deep and concrete, the communication in the foundry industry of BRICS nations has become more frequent. Till now, BRICS casting production has accounted for more than 60% of the world, playing a more and more important role in the world foundry industry.
Since 2011, the BRICS Foundry Forum has been successfully held in five countries. The Forum helps BRICS nations to better understand each other’s development, promotes technology and information exchange, and will raise their influences in the world foundry industry. The Association will not only guarantee the Forum, it will also act as an effective carrier of the Forum for high-efficient communication and pragmatic cooperation among BRICS nations. Thus, the BRICS foundry industry will get more closely, and mutual trust and tolerance will be increased, which will boost the cooperation and development of BRICS foundry industry to a new step, and also infuse new energy to the world foundry industry.
During the International Foundry Forum (IFF) held in September 2010, Spain, the Standing Vice President of China Foundry Association Mr. Zhang Libo put forward with the suggestion to organize BRIC Foundry Forum and the proposal was agreed by the other leaders of BRIC foundry associations, including Brazil, Russia and India. In June 2011, South African Institute of Foundrymen joined in the BRICS Foundry Forum. The first BRICS Foundry Forum was successfully held from October 5-6, 2011, in Sao Paulo, Brazil after one year’s preparation. The forum highlighted national foundry market conditions and development trends, the technical route of foundry equipment and materials.
The second BRICS Foundry Forum was held from May 8-10, 2012, in Beijing during METAL CHINA 2012. A BRICS Foundry Forum wall was specially set up at the exhibition and attracted representatives to take photos. Besides, China Foundry Association provided every international participant with traditional Chinese garments. All representatives wearing the traditional Chinese garments and taking photos became the highlight of this Forum. During this session, the executive committee meeting was held to discuss the form, content, date and rules to organize the Forum. The minutes of this meeting has become the guidance of the Forum.
The third BRICS Foundry Forum was held in March 2013, Johannesburg, South Africa. In the first and second Forum, macroeconomic data had been paid much attention. The third session turned to focus on the driving factors that influence the development of the foundry industry, which also maximized the opportunity for all representatives to learn from each other. This session had drawn a conclusion of the foundry industry of BRICS foundry industry by collecting, comparing and analyzing data of iron foundries, iron casting production, workforce, iron foundry energy structure, cost, and cost percentage structure of different scale enterprises, the composition of main iron foundries, education and training, staff’s educational status, national support policies, and environmental regulations. With “global cooperation in the foundry industry” as its theme, the 6th BRICS Foundry Forum was held from May 14-16, 2016, Beijing. China Foundry Association has been devoted to advancing the BRICS Foundry Association in recent years. As the first official meeting after the establishment of BRICS Foundry Association, this session focused on the influence of the healthy development of BRICS foundry industry on the global foundry industry, and discussed how to promote the cooperation among BRICS nations.
The representatives delivered keynote speeches on the development trend and situation, technology and prospect of each country’s foundry industry, providing information and suggestions for the further cooperation among BRICS. Mr. Zhang Libo, the Standing Vice President of China Foundry Association and the first President of BRICS Foundry Association, delivered a report at the end of the forum. He said BRICS countries should make concerted efforts to strengthen communication, actively propagandize BRICS Foundry Association with the existing resources and a variety of platforms, such as the BRICS Foundry Association’s website and Global Casting Magazine. BRICS should also conduct cross-border e-commerce and provide remote education services, etc. He added that although BRICS countries are faced with different problems, there were more common interests and requirements. Deep communication would increase mutual understanding and improve innovation. BRICS nations would move forward hand in hand and share prosperity by deepening exchanges. It can be expected that the momentum of cooperation among foundry organizations of emerging markets in the future would be further strengthened, and the development of the BRICS countries is bound to be more dynamic. Moving forward hand in hand and jointly promoting the green, prosperous and sustainable development of the world foundry industry represents the common expectation of each side, which is the basic target of the BRICS Foundry Forum.