President Xi Jinping of China, Narendra Modi of India, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa joined Putin with leaders of the new BRICS countries, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia. Putin schedules a private meeting with them with visitors like Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey.
President Vladimir Putin will host the most extensive international conference in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. He will use the BRICS summit to demonstrate to the United States and its allies that he is not an outcast.
The Kremlin is grabbing the opportunity to portray Putin as resisting the efforts to change the world order, especially with Russian troops advancing in eastern Ukraine, and there is evidence of rising battle fatigue among some of Kyiv’s allies. Even though this message resonates with some emerging countries, the US and its Group of Seven partners reject it.
Leaders of 32 countries, high-ranking officials of regional organizations, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend the three-day summit on Tuesday in Kazan.
President Xi Jinping of China, Narendra Modi of India, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa joined Putin with leaders of the new BRICS countries, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia. Putin schedules a private meeting with them with visitors like Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, postponed his plans at the summit on Sunday due to a brain injury he had in a house accident. According to officials, he will participate via video link.
Members disagree on whether to keep growing the group and to lessen dependency on the dollar as a global reserve currency.
While BRICS supports the increased use of national currencies in bilateral trade, members like India oppose promoting China’s yuan as a substitute reserve currency.
Russia has issued a report among BRICS countries outlining modifications to cross-border payments intended to get around the global banking system. They include developing direct connections between central banks and creating a network of commercial lenders to carry out transactions in local currencies.
But, other BRICS countries do not want to break free from the dollar-based system. But, Russia’s economy is suffering due to sanctions imposed over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
It was the first gathering after the South Africa BRICS summit when they decided to add six more countries as members. But Argentina has withdrawn its new president, Javier Milei, and Saudi Arabia has non-committed.
Countries from Malaysia and Thailand to Nicaragua and NATO member Turkey are keen to join BRICS, although it is unlikely to reach an agreement on the enlargement at the Russia summit.
India opposes further expansion for the time being and supports a category of BRICS partner countries without voting rights to prevent the group from becoming an anti-US organization controlled by China and Russia.
Brazil and South Africa share the same views as India. South African officials state they would oppose any attempt to weaken South African power by inviting Morocco or Nigeria to join BRICS.
The United Arab Emirates completely opposed any attempts to present BRICS membership as a sign that the Global South is against the West regarding internal policy. The Gulf has good relations with the Western countries, including the USA.
According to Alicia Garcia-Herrero, an economist based in Hong Kong and a senior researcher at the Bruegel think tank, the growth of BRICS clearly shows that the balance of power in the world is shifting. However, since there is economic reliance on China and the declining sentiment of China among the members, the future of the group is uncertain.
According to Jim O’Neill, an economist at Goldman Sachs who originally came up with the BRIC term in 2001, the organization has become over-political due to its expansion. He expressed concern about its lack of usefulness other than being a group without the USA.
The power of BRICS is growing. Its nine members constitute 26% of the global economy and 45% of the world’s population, compared to the G-7, which accounts for 44% of the global gross domestic product and 10% of the world’s population. After India hosted the G-20 last year, Brazil will host it next month, and South Africa will host in 2025.
Putin did not attend the BRICS summit after South Africa warned that it would have to abide by an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Ukraine.
Even though the warrant has restricted Putin’s travel, the fact that so many foreign leaders have gathered in Russia shows their willingness, especially from the Global South, to continue to meet him despite the US and its allies.
According to Fyodor Lukyanov, president of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, the fact that so many countries wish to join BRICS shows a rising demand for international relations independent from the West.has context menu
