JOHANNESBURG, August 22. /TASS/. The 15th summit of the BRICS group of nations, bringing together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will begin in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The event, chaired by South Africa, will be held under the theme ‘BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism.’
The summit’s chairman, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, has also sent invitations to over 60 heads of states and governments from Africa and developing nations from other regions of the world. The summit will continue for three days.
On the final day of the summit, a meeting in the Friends of BRICS format will be held. South Africa expects the event to become a forum of the Global South, aimed at multiplying its international clout and promoting the reform of the entire system of international relations. At the same time, South Africa views BRICS as the leader of the Global South, which spearheads the process of creating a fairer world order.
Russia’s participation
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to address the summit. Although he will not travel to Johannesburg, he will join his colleagues via a video linkup. The Kremlin has underscored that although Putin will not be physically present at the event, he will nevertheless participate in the scheduled activities in full.
Officials from the South Africa, the summit’s host nation, also reaffirmed on many occasions that Putin would have an opportunity to participate in all sessions and negotiations with other heads of states. They added that there was nothing unusual about this format of attendance, adding that "over the past years, numerous BRICS sessions and meetings were held in the online format."
The Foreign Ministry of South Africa said earlier that the format of Putin’s participation was chosen in consensus by all the five BRICS leaders.
On March 17, the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president, alleging that he was responsible for "unlawful deportation" and transfer of population, including children, from Ukraine to Russia. Moscow earlier pointed out that since Russia was not a party to the ICC Rome Statute, the court’s decisions were legally void for the country. Russia also stated that the court had proven to be a flawed entity by the fact that it was ready to deliver justice on the West’s orders, so its activities were about anything but real justice.
South Africa’s BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal said that in the context of the summit, Russia chose not to create problems for the host nation in connection with the warrant.
Addressing the Russia-Africa summit in late July, the Russian president expressed hope that the BRICS meeting will be held at the highest possible level, adding that Moscow, on its part, will do everything to facilitate this goal. Later, Putin told reporters that at this point, his presence in Russia at this point was more important than personal attendance of the BRICS summit. He emphasized that he remained in touch with all BRICS partners.
BRICS dialogue culture
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia in person during the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, Moscow used this format of participation in summits "on multiple occasions." On August 20, the top Russian diplomat discussed preparations for the summit with other BRICS foreign ministers, addressing ways to develop and strengthen the strategic partnership of the five nations.
Lavrov said in an article for South Africa’s Ubuntu Magazine, published in the run-up to the summit, that BRICS nations have the ability to "find common ground on and solutions even to the most complex issues," thanks to "a culture of dialogue based on the principles of equality, respect for the choice of one's own developmental path and consideration of each other's interests." In his opinion, the BRICS strategic partnership is currently gaining momentum.
Russia will assume the organization’s rotating presidency after South Africa, while the next summit is expected to be held in the Volga area city of Kazan. Russia’s BRICS sherpa, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, believes that the number of participants in the next year’s summit will be higher than in 2023.
BRICS global position
According to calculations made by UN experts, BRICS countries account for 42% of the global population, 27% of the global GDP and around 29% of the international trade turnover. Moreover, the group’s economic clout is growing rapidly, and the organization is becoming a key structure and a centerpiece in the entire global architecture of international affairs at an unprecedentedly high speed.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s estimates, BRICS countries surpassed G7 nations in terms of gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity for the first time ever this year. The combined figure is $56 trillion for BRICS and $52 trillion for G7, which includes the United States.
As BRICS is taking over the leading position in the global economy, its geopolitical clout also begins to grow, South Africa says. According to local analysts, Africa will play a key role in the process of forming a new global center of influence. The rapidly developing continent, with its explosive population growth, vast natural riches and overwhelming desire for sustainable development and prosperity, has been strengthening its positions in a steady fashion.
The South African Foreign Ministry told TASS that BRICS and Africa viewed establishing a multipolar world and new security architecture as their priority. "We want to live in a more predictable, inclusive, fair and sustainable world order," a South African diplomat has said.
In turn, South Africa’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Naledi Pandor said in the run-up to the summit that its role was to create a new and more equal system of international affairs.
Summit’s agenda
Organizers of the event have told TASS that issues that are to be raised at the summit had been combined in three thematic groups: strengthening and expanding economic and financial cooperation; further coordination of moves in the spheres of politics and security; humanitarian issues and the encouragement of social and cultural cooperation among peoples.
At the same time, BRICS leaders assume that relations between the group’s member states are based on mutual respect, equality, transparency and consensus. These principles should be employed by other international organizations as well, including the United Nations.
The summit will also look into issues that cause concern among the leaders of the BRICS nations, including unilateral restrictions that are being imposed by some countries and are incompatible with the UN charter. This policy of sanctions has a most negative effect on the global affairs and on the humanity’s collective ability to resolve current problems.
Energy issues will also be high on the summit’s agenda. During preparations for the summit, energy security was declared to be a foundation for economic development, social stability and prosperity of all nations worldwide. To that end, stable supply of fuel to global markets needs to be ensured.
The fight against terrorism and extremism was also included into the summit’s agenda. Documents prepared for the meeting underscore that a complex approach should be employed during anti-terrorism efforts, while double standards must be ruled out. Social networks, used by terror groups to recruit new members and spread calls for violence, require a special attention in this context.
Expansion issues
Amid the rapid growth of the BRICS group’s international clout, many countries chose to request to join the group. Lately, BRICS found itself in a situation where more than 50 countries from various parts of the world are actively seeking membership, said Anil Sooklal, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa and Ambassador-at-Large for Asia and BRICS.
The diplomat told TASS that the task of forging the concept of BRICS expansion, as well as membership principles, standards, criteria and rules, was set by the group’s leaders after their 2022 summit, chaired by China. The leaders have agreed in principle that the group would eventually adopt new members.
In his words, BRICS sherpas have been drafting the concept of admitting new members since January. This document will be brought before the Johannesburg summit. According to South Africa’s foreign ministry, formal membership applications have been filed by Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Cuba, Honduras, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Nigeria, the Palestinian state, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia.
Too early for single BRICS currency
Intense consultations have been under way in BRICS over the past months regarding a project to introduce a single currency of the group, but no decision on the issue has so far been made, a spokesperson for the South African foreign ministry has told TASS. The project is now "in the stage of a preliminary study," he said. In his words, the matter is being discussed within BRICS in its "conceptual form."
In turn, South Africa's BRICS Sherpa said the issue is now being studied by the group’s experts. In his opinion, the introduction of a single currency would require a basis in the form of the growing role of national currencies in mutual trade and investment.
"BRICS countries have agreements on trade in national currencies and we are full of determination to implement them," Anil Sooklal said.
At the same time, he pointed out that South Africa as the current chair of BRICS views the reform of the global financial system as its priority.
South Africa believes that it would be too early to directly challenge the US dollar. The country’s foreign minister admitted that discussions on ways of gradually reducing the use of dollar were now under way. In her words, the move is not aimed against the dollar as such. Rather, the goal is to strengthen other currencies.
Consolidating positions of Global South
On the last day of the summit, August 24, meetings will be held as part of the BRICS - Africa Dialogue and Friends of BRICS Plus Dialogue. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has invited 67 leaders from the Global South to participate.
The South African leader has also invited 20 high-ranking officials representing international organizations and unions of the Global South, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Caribbean Community, the Group of Seventy Seven (G-77) and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The event will also be attended by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who plans to address the need to fight climate change and call for a reform of the global financial system in his speeches.