Leaders of the world’s most powerful emerging economies have threatened to withhold additional financing requested by the International Monetary Fund to fight the European sovereign debt crisis unless they gain greater voting power at the Fund.

Meeting in India on Thursday, the heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa expressed frustration at the slow pace of reform at the Washington-based multilateral lender, historically dominated by Europe and the US.

In a joint statement, the so-called Brics nations said there was an urgent need to “better reflect economic weights” and “enhance the voice and representation of emerging market and developing countries” at the IMF.

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