Leaders of the Brics of Developing Nations Grupo gather in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday to reinforce requests for reforming traditional western institutions and present the bloc as advocate of multilateralism in an increasingly fragmented world.
With forums such as G7 and G20 – groups of the world’s leading economies – harmed by divisions and the US president’s “America First” approach Donald Trump, the expansion of BRICS has opened a new space for diplomatic coordination.
“Given the resurgence of protectionism, it is up to emerging nations to defend the multilateral trade regime and reform international financial architecture,” said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a BRICS business forum on Saturday.
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BRICS nations now represent more than half of the world’s population and 40% of their economic production, Lula noted.
BRICS brought together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China in its first summit in 2009. Subsequently, the bloc added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. This is the first summit of leaders to include Indonesia.
“The vacuum left by the others is almost filled in instantly by the BRICS,” said a Brazilian diplomat who asked not to be identified. Although the G7 still focuses on great power, the source added, “it does not have the predominance of yore.”
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However, there are doubts about the targets shared by an increasingly heterogeneous group that grew up and began to include regional rivals, as well as the main emerging economies.
Apart from this year’s summit success, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to send his Prime Minister in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate remotely due to an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Still, many heads of state will meet for discussions at the Rio Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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More than 30 nations expressed interest in participating in BRICS, either as full members or partners.
Increasing influence
Brazil, which will also host UN COP’s climate summit in November, took advantage of the two meetings to highlight the seriousness with which developing nations are dealing with climate change, while Trump braked US climate initiatives.
Both China and the United Arab Emirates have signaled, in meetings with the Minister of Finance of Brazil, Fernando Haddad, in Rio de Janeiro, who plan to invest in the background rainforests forever, according to two sources of knowledge of the financing of the conservation of endangered forests worldwide.
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The expansion of BRICS has added diplomatic weight to the meeting, which aspires to speak by developing nations throughout the global south, strengthening the requests for reforming global institutions, such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Block growth also increased the challenges to reach a consensus on controversial geopolitical issues.
Before the summit, negotiators struggled to find a common language for a joint statement about Gaza bombing, the conflict between Israel and Iran, and a proposal for reform of the security board, two sources said anonymity to speak openly.
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To overcome the differences between the African nations in relation to the representative proposed by the continent to a renovated security council, the group agreed to endorse seats for Brazil and India, leaving in open which country should represent the interests of Africa, a person familiar with negotiations told Reuters.
BRICS will also continue with its veiled criticism of Trump’s tariff policy in the US. At a ministerial meeting in April, the bloc expressed concern with “unilateral unilateral protectionist measures, including the indiscriminate increase in reciprocal tariffs.”
