As the BRICS bloc meets in Tatarstan, Russia for its sixteenth summit, the founding five members will see the expansion of the organization to include thirty-two member delegations in partnership with them. The title of the summit held in Kazan City, Tatarstan’s capital has been announced to state that of “equal development and strengthening of security at global level”. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, will also be participating in this meeting held in two periods.
At the BRICS meeting, an important strategic partnership agreement with Iran will be signed, while the status of Saudi Arabia will also be clarified. The first round of the BRICS meeting will be held today and tomorrow, in which the heads of the member countries of the organization and the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, will participate. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, and Ethiopia have also joined this organization. 38 countries have been invited to participate in the second round of the meeting, out of which 32 countries have assured to send delegations. Three dozen countries, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Malaysia, Syria, Belarus, and Thailand, have expressed their desire to become members of this organization, while many have submitted formal applications.
The developing world is creating a new path for itself; chartering a new course through BRICS. This summit in Russia is going to be interesting as we could finally hear whether Saudi Arabia will finally take a direct stride across a chasm of hesitancy and join BRICS Plus. The oil- rich kingdom under Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman AKA MBS has become reluctant to fully participate in the group’s policies. The most notable of which is the BRICS unified currency. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also taking advantage of the Summit on his home soil showcasing Russia as having endured the sanctions imposed by the Western Powers for the war in Ukraine. UN Secretary General Guterres would find himself in an awkward position when he has to meet with the leader of the host country.
Meanwhile it is interesting to note among those nations seeking membership of BRICS is Malaysia, Thailand and possibly Indonesia members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which would offer huge opportunities to BRICS.
Russian officials already see the meeting as a massive success. Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said 36 countries confirmed participation, and more than 20 will send heads of state. Putin will hold around 20 bilateral meetings, Ushakov said, and the summit could turn into “the largest foreign policy event ever held” on Russian soil. On the sidelines of the summit, Putin also will meet Thursday with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Ushakov said. It will be the first visit to Russia in more than two years for Guterres, who has repeatedly criticised Russia’s war in Ukraine. Analysts say the Kremlin wants the optics of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with its global allies amid continued tensions with the West, as well as the practicality of negotiating deals with them to shore up Russia’s economy and its war effort.
For the other participants, it’s a chance to amplify their voices and narratives. “The beauty of Brics is that it doesn’t put too many obligations on you,” said Alexander Gabuyev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
This BRICS Summit in Kazan City is a platform for the Kremlin to demonstrate its close relations with the other member states amidst the war in Ukraine. Russia has also brought in its other allies such as Iran and Belarus to the BRICS fold. The Saudi Kingdom still has strong relations with the Western Powers particularly the United States, while leaning towards Moscow and Beijing. The presence of Guterres at this Summit is going to raise countless eye brows and ruffle a lot of feathers. With an Arrest Warrant on Putin’s person by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice in the Hague due to gross human rights abuses in the Ukraine war he (Putin) may not be the best of company. Guterres has found himself in an awkward position meeting with a man who has been relentless at destroying countless lives in Ukraine.
The privilege of being President of the Russian Federation is that Putin has numerous resources at his advantage, particularly oil, gas and possibly diamonds. The BRICS (+) bloc offers a market to trading these goods. This enables Putin to be secure if grotesquely immune to prosecution.
“There are not that many strings attached, really, to being part of Brics. And at the same time, there might be interesting opportunities coming your way, including just having more face time with all of these leaders.” For Putin, the summit is important personally because it shows the failure of Western efforts to isolate him, Gabuyev said. The gathering will demonstrate at home and abroad that “Russia is really an important player that is leading this new group that will end Western dominance. That’s his personal narrative”, he said. The Kremlin will be able to talk to major players like India and China about expanding trade and bypassing Western sanctions. India is an important market for Russian commodities, while China is where Moscow hopes to source dual-use and various military-related goods, Gabuyev said.
BRICS may be seen as a platform for the marginalized and repressed but three of its main founding members’ leaders are authoritarians. Russia and China are led by repressive and despotic regimes, while India once known for its vibrant democracy has come under the iron thumb of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his religious nationalism. China is still under one party rule by communists, while Russia is growing restless under Putin’s iron grip. The western world is riddled with authoritarian leaders like former US president and presidential Candidate Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban. However, BRICS is especially interesting due to the Belt and Road Trade Initiative created by Beijing some of whose participants including Belarus, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran etc who are looking to join the BRICS bloc.
India relies heavily on raw materials from Russia for the manufacturing of its goods. The BRICS bloc does not have the best human rights records among some of its member states. South Africa needs to be weary of these nations in the long term. This applies to President Cyril Ramaphosa and his successors.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
