Leaders of the BRICS group of
developing nations on Sunday condemned attacks on Gaza and Iran,
called for reforms of global institutions and presented the bloc
as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and
trade wars.
With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies
hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive “America First”
approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, expansion of the BRICS
has opened new space for diplomatic coordination.
In opening remarks to the summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the
Cold War’s Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations
that resisted joining either side of a polarized global order.
“BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement,” Lula told
leaders. “With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in
check once again.”
BRICS nations now represent more than half the world’s
population and 40% of its economic output, Lula noted in remarks
on Saturday to business leaders warning of rising protectionism.
The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil,
Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc
later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia,
Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as
members. This is the first summit of leaders to include
Indonesia.
“The vacuum left by others ends up being filled almost
instantly by the BRICS,” said a Brazilian diplomat who asked not
to be named. Although the G7 still concentrates vast power, the
diplomat added, “it doesn’t have the predominance it once did.”
However, there are questions about the shared goals of an
increasingly heterogeneous BRICS group, which has grown to
include regional rivals along with major emerging economies.
Stealing some thunder from this year’s summit, Chinese
President Xi Jinping chose to send his premier in his place.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an
arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
Still, several heads of state were gathered for discussions
at Rio’s Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President
Cyril Ramaphosa.
More than 30 nations have expressed interest in
participating in the BRICS, either as full members or partners.
GROWING CLOUT, COMPLEXITY
Expansion of the BRICS has added diplomatic weight to the
gathering, which aspires to speak for developing nations across
the Global South, strengthening calls for reforming global
institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the
International Monetary Fund.
“If international governance does not reflect the new
multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to
help bring it up to date,” Lula said in his remarks, which
highlighted the failure of U.S.-led wars in the Middle East.
Urging the BRICS to take the lead on reforms, Lula reflected
on the G20 summit hosted in the same locale last November: “In a
short period of time, the international scene has deteriorated
to the point that some of the initiatives we approved then would
no longer be possible now.”
In a joint statement released on Sunday afternoon, the
leaders assembled called attacks against Iran’s “civilian
infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities” a “violation of
international law.”
The group expressed “grave concern” for the Palestinian
people over Israeli attacks on Gaza, and condemned what the
joint statement called a “terrorist attack” in
India-administered Kashmir.
On trade, the joint statement warned the rise in tariffs
threatens global trade, continuing the group’s veiled criticism
of Trump’s U.S. tariff policies.
The group voiced its support for Ethiopia and Iran to join
the World Trade Organization, while calling to urgently restore
its ability to resolve trade disputes.
The leaders’ joint statement backed plans to pilot a BRICS
Multilateral Guarantees initiative within the group’s New
Development Bank to lower financing costs and boost investment
in member states, as first reported by Reuters last week.
In a separate statement following a discussion of artificial
intelligence, the leaders called for protections against
unauthorized use of AI to avoid excessive data collection and
allow mechanisms for fair payment.
Brazil, which also hosts the United Nations climate summit
in November, has seized on both gatherings to highlight how
seriously developing nations are tackling climate change, while
Trump has slammed the brakes on U.S. climate initiatives.
China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest
in a proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to
two sources with knowledge of the discussions about funding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Leaders of the BRICS group ofdeveloping nations on Sunday condemned attacks on Gaza and Iran,called for reforms of global institutions and presented the blocas a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts andtrade wars.With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economieshamstrung by divisions and the disruptive “America First”approach of U.S. President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n