South Africa: The Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, said at the BRICS summit that it should become a trading bloc representing the “global majority.”
But, during the summit, the BRICS group, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, showed disagreements about allowing new members and whether to make BRICS a geopolitical force against the Western world.
The Brazilian President, Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, stated that it was not the group’s aim to compete with western institutions.
“We do not want to be a counterpoint to the G7, G20, or the United States, we just want to organise ourselves,” Mr. Lula remarked.
In a recorded message, Mr. Putin pointed to western sanctions as the cause of instability in global markets for food and other goods. The Russian President also emphasised that BRICS aims to promote fairness in international relations.
“We cooperate on the principles of equality, mutual support, and respect for each other’s interests. This is the essence of the future-oriented strategic course of our association, a course that meets the aspirations of the main part of the world community, the so-called global majority,” Mr. Putin remarked.
The BRICS nations make up approximately 40 percent of the world’s population and a quarter of the global gross domestic product (GDP). However, they are thinking about growing their membership.
More than 40 leaders, primarily from Africa and other parts of the global south, are attending the three-day summit in Johannesburg, alongside figures like Mr. Lula, China’s Mr. Xi Jinping, and India’s Mr. Narendra Modi. According to South African organisers, many of these countries have shown interest in becoming part of BRICS.
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