The BRICS Summit 2024 has shaped up to be more than just a routine regional summit.
Coming at a time when conflicts are raging over the world, key elections and economies are becoming more polarised, and the leader of the host country Russia, has been labeled a possible war criminal by the West, BRICS has shown the world in a way, that it perseveres.
Moreover, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the summit, despite outcry from Kyiv and his previous criticism of Russia over its war with Ukraine. Notably, Guterres had earlier declined Ukraine’s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland.
Amid this dynamically shifting backdrop, the power display of big leaders from Russia, China, and India, shaking hands and having friendly chats has signified an important shift in the global geopolitical order.
Expanded bloc
One of the most crucial factors signifying this power shift is the expansion of the BRICS bloc to include other influential members. The core members of BRICS include as per the acronym: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
The bloc now has nine nations in its fold: Iran, Egypt, UAE, and Ethiopia. Saudi Arabia is yet to officially join but participates in the organization’s activities as an invited nation.
The BRICS nations account for 45% of the global population. And the members’ economies together sum up to more than $28.5 trillion. That’s around 28% of the global economy.
The expansion and the call to stand out as an inclusive group that will welcome more requests from other countries to join the grouping is also being seen as a dramatic shift in global alliances.
In comparison, the G7, a more influential world bloc with the most advanced global economies at its core – United States, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan – is considered to be less inclusive. It also includes only 10% of the global population.
New world order
At the heart of this year’s summit have been questions that openly challenge the global status quo. The biggest among these is the growing questions about the dominance of the US dollar.
Facing heavy sanctions from the West, Russia actually advised foreign attendees to bring cash – US dollars and Euros – to the summit, as most Russian Banks only take dollars and euros, and going cashless isn’t an option as Mastercard or Visa cards halted card operations in the country since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022.
Naturally, Russian President Vladimir Putin intensified calls to use local currencies.
The BRICS joint declaration too, has scores of financial reforms that propel and advocate the local currency settlements between trading countries. The declaration actually welcomed the use of local currencies in BRICS financial transactions and supported the exploration of an independent cross-border settlement infrastructure. “We recognize the widespread benefits of faster, low-cost, more efficient, transparent, safe, and inclusive cross-border payment instruments built upon the principle of minimizing trade barriers and non-discriminatory access,” the document stated.
Read the full Kazan Declaration here:
https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/38450/Kazan_Declaration__Strengthening_Multilateralism_For_Just_Global__Development_And_Security
India’s balancing act
During the summit, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that BRICS is not an anti-Western alliance but a non-Western grouping committed to rebalancing global governance.
“As we take our efforts forward in BRICS, we must be careful to ensure that this organization does not acquire the image of one that is trying to replace global institutions,” Modi said in his speech at the Summit.
Read the full speech here: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2067319.
However, it cannot be ignored that the BRICS nations are building a financial infrastructure to reduce their reliance on the dollar for international transactions. The creation of the BRICS Pay system, a blockchain-based platform that supports payments in local currencies, illustrates the evolving concept of a multipolar financial world.
India itself has been testing the digital rupee in an attempt to integrate national currencies within the BRICS pay system.
China’s wake-up call
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the major conflicts prevalent in the world were a serious wake-up call for the emerging economies. He expressed hope that BRICS would be a “stabilizing force,” urging the member nations to seek a ceasefire in Gaza and prevent further conflict in Lebanon. Speaking on the final day of the Summit, Xi also called for restraint in Ukraine, stating that there must be “no escalation of fighting.”
“The Ukraine crisis drags on… We must adhere to the three principles of ‘no spillover from the battlefield, no escalation of fighting, and no adding oil to the fire by relevant parties,’ to ease the situation as soon as possible,” Xi said.
However, while BRICS presents a united front on global issues, critics point to the internal challenges that the bloc’s members face. Despite recent agreements over border standoff issues, China and India continue to grapple with significant differences in trade and geopolitical areas. These internal tensions are not unique; ongoing disputes between Egypt and Ethiopia, as well as regional rivalries between Iran and Saudi Arabia, further complicate the bloc’s cohesion.
Additionally, while Russia takes the lead in advocating for a new world order, BRICS members like India are keen to maintain strong relations with both the Global South and Western alliances. Despite these internal challenges, the Kazan Summit has underscored the members’ unity, highlighting that Russia, despite Western sanctions, remains far from isolated.
