Brazil assumes the presidency of Brics on January 1st of next year and will host, for the fourth time, the group’s summit meeting. For the Brazilian government, this will be an opportunity to seek understanding, among the ten nations that make up the group, towards building a better and more sustainable world.
In an interview with Agência Brasil, ambassador Eduardo Saboia, sherpa (that is, the chief negotiator) of Brics in 2025, states that the group, due to the size of its population (more than 40% of the global total) and its economy ( 37% of world GDP by purchasing power), is of great importance on the global stage.
“If you want to build a better world, a sustainable world, Brics has to be part of this construction. And it is important that there is an understanding between these countries, because this understanding helps you achieve a broader understanding [com outros países]”, said Saboia.
In addition to topics that have already been discussed at Brics, such as the possibility of using local currencies in trade between countries and the reform of global governance, Brazil will take advantage of its position at the head of the group, to seek understanding on topics such as climate change , sustainable development with poverty reduction and governance over artificial intelligence.
The climate issue is of special interest because Brazil will also host the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP-30) this year, in Belém.
“How can we take advantage of the Brics presidency to build an understanding that can help the success of COP-30? The countries that are members of BRICS have a central role in the issue of energy, which is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions”, he states.
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The governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a relevant topic since, according to the ambassador, this is a “disruptive” technology. “There is no governance of artificial intelligence, but this is a discussion that is taking place. Who knows, at Brics, during the Brazilian presidency, we can advance the idea of having a vision from these countries on what the governance of artificial intelligence should be like.”
According to Saboia, Brics is a construction and stabilizing force. “It’s stabilizing because if you have these countries, which are very different and have different political systems, each with their own challenges, understanding each other and they meet every year, that’s good for everyone, because that’s where solutions come from for the population” .
Brics expansion
The first summit took place in 2009, with just Brazil, Russia, India and China (the original Bric). In 2011, South Africa joined, transforming the acronym into BRICS.
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In 2023, at the Johannesburg summit in South Africa, Brics invited Argentina, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates to join the group from January 2024. Argentina decided not to join, while the others participated in this year’s summit in Kazan, Russia.
Ambassador Saboia explains that the expansion of the Brics is the result of the group’s success. “The Brics today arouse great interest and it is important that it is representative of the countries of the global south, of emerging countries”.
According to him, the expansion of the group has support from Brazil and is in line with the country’s position in relation to global governance reform. “If we defend the reform and expansion of the Security Council [da ONU]it makes sense for us to have an expansion of the Brics. Now this platform [o Brics]there is an agenda, there is an agreement, so the countries that entered embraced these achievements. One of the priorities is to make this incorporation happen as smoothly and effectively as possible.”
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At the Kazan summit, Brics also announced a new type of members (associated countries) and it was defined that 13 nations would be invited: Cuba, Bolivia, Turkey, Nigeria, Indonesia, Algeria, Belarus, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Thailand , Vietnam and Uganda.
Saboia states that the announcement regarding the accession of partner countries will be made in the coming weeks. “One of the priorities of our presidency is to make these countries feel welcomed into the BRICS family. It is important that there is work for them to get involved with. They will participate in meetings of foreign ministers and it is also expected that they will participate in the summit [de 2025]”.
