A meeting of BRICS major emerging countries discussed the selection process of the next head of the World Bank and emphasized it should be open to all countries, rejecting the tradition that the job automatically goes to an American, a senior BRIC official said on Saturday.

The official, speaking after a meeting of the BRICS - Russia, South Africa, Brazil, India and China - said the United States had not circulated the name of its proposed candidate for the World Bank.

Asked whether emerging economies could field their own candidate for the post, the official said: That is certainly a discussion we will have.

(Reporting By Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Russia China South Africa India