Brazil plays host BRICS summit; Russian Putin, China Xi do not attend Rio visit
The speakers were supposed to condemn trade tariffs introduced by the US President Donald Trump and position the bloc as multilateralism champion.
The summit of leaders of emerging BRICS coalition is being held in Brazil, marred with the new tariff policies inaugurated by the United States President Donald Trump, and positioning the bloc as a champion of multilateralism.
Their two-day summit, which starts in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, marks a serious objection to the influence of the west according to the leaders, most of whom hail the developing world on how to enhance cooperation.
BRICS is an association of five the major emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which was constituted to facilitate their mutual cooperation, development as well as favourable balance of global order. All these countries have more than 40 percent of the global population and global GDP of about 25 percent. The bloc is interested in reforming international institutions of monetary and political decisions in order to undermine western influence and promote the interests of the growing nations. The New Development Bank is one of the most important projects of this organisation; it was built to finance infrastructural and development projects in the countries-members. A first BRICS summit was organised in 2009 and progressively, the bloc has grown to accommodate countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as full members. Also, BRICS has come up with 10 new strategic partner nations, such as Belarus, Cuba and Vietnam.
However, this is the first time since seizing control back in 2012 that Chinese President Xi Jinping is not going to appear there physically, delegating his position to Prime Minister Li Qiang.
Even President Vladimir Putin of Russia would also not be there physically due to his longing to the International Criminal Court ICC over his role in the invasion of Ukraine this year. Brazil as a recipient of the Rome Statute would have to implement the arrest warrant.
The notable absences are raising questions over the group’s cohesion and global clout.
The presidents and prime ministers in the BRICS summit are currently supposed to rail against the indiscriminate trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and declare such measures as unlawful and which pose peril further to the world economy. Artificial intelligence and climatic change together with global health policies will also be on the agenda.
The BRICS Summit that took place in Brazil highlighted how Western dominance should be opposed and greater cooperation among emerging economies should be achieved. The summit sought to further enhance the bloc in terms of unity and multilateralism, although there was significant absence of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping as well as the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Major items on the agenda were trade tariffs, environmental change, artificial intelligence, and international health. BRICS positioned itself as an influential voice of Global South, and offered a cooperative alternative to the Group of Seven (G7), as well as argued in favour of more balanced world order.