Former president of Brazil and economist Dilma Vana Rousseff, the chairperson of the New Development Bank, addresses a Bank meeting at the Cape Town International Centre on August 31, 2024. The NDB is a multilateral development bank that aims to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other EMDCs. Picture: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers
By Siphamandla Zondi and Ashraf Patel
The 2024 BRICS summit, to be held in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to October 24, will take place amid geopolitical fractures deepening The multiple crises in the Middle East, the Gaza Genocide, myriad African conflicts and Ukraine are likely to dominate the agenda, as member states explore the future of the alliance and their nations’ roles within it.
During the 2023 BRICS summit, the original members from which the axis takes its name (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) welcomed new members into the fold: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The big boost is that not less than 14 members have expressed interest in joining the bloc.
BRICS Expansion and intra BRICS norm setting: Towards a BRICS 20?
Russia’s BRICS Presidency this year has a special mission: to ensure a smooth incorporation of all new members of the association, while at the same time preserving and enhancing all the achievements accumulated over the years and preserving and developing the experience of effective cooperation.
This year’s BRICS Outreach is bold indeed. The summit meeting in Kazan has invited the heads of member states, potential new members, and heads of executive bodies of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, and possibly several other countries and regional organisations.
The issue on the agenda is to define the modalities of a new, special category of BRICS partner states, which would participate in co-operation on specific projects in both the political and economic spheres.
In a deepening multipolar world riven by geopolitical conflicts, the possibility of BRICS growth can provide a ‘solid anchor ’ ‘for the Global South and Africa as it navigates the world order.
The G20 itself faces many divergences especially its non-effectiveness in addressing systemic global financial reforms, its inability to deal with the African debt crisis and its belated framework on minimum 15% multinational tax. In this milieu BRICS programmes norms, standards and real institutions such as the NDB actually offer concrete ‘’developmentalism’, not just the dialoguing formats forever.
‘Creatively managing tensions’ will be a new skill in diplomacy as regional hegemons all seek some agency within the bloc.
BRICS should maintain its relative autonomy in the face of international tensions between the major powers while striving to negotiate better agreement conditions in intra-BRICS relations.
Clearly, the Kazan Summit presents opportunities for the BRICS to consolidate its statute and agenda on a number of fronts.
In the economic domain, this year's BRICS summit will be discussing the following:
Economic and financial co-operation is the most important field of BRICS activities. As is well-known, the New Development Bank is up and running under the group; there is also the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, which makes it possible, when necessary, to properly react to crisis processes in the global economy. The possible introduction of “a single BRICS currency” has recently been under discussion in the expert community.
BRICS Multilateralism and reforms: a boost for the Global South
This move showcases the BRICS’ efforts to be seen as an inclusive grouping representing the Global South — especially as both China and Russia have projected themselves as belonging to the Global South. Even though there is some tension within BRICS, they are manageable.
The BRICS trade ministers meeting in June 2024, committed to a fair inclusive, transparent and functioning WTO. This is a significant commitment towards genuine multilateralism and a sign of deepening maturing multilateralism as the US and EU cower into a new protectionism.
Climate Change and Climate Finance for inclusive Just Sustainability: BRICS model
The promotion of sustainable development is a key part of the BRICS agenda. BRICS leaders often emphasise their role in advocating for greater “stability, sustainable development and prosperity” in the world and notions of ‘moderation and balanced development. In this context, the forthcoming UN Climate Summit COP 29 in Azerbaijan as well as the next UN COP summit and Brasil in 2025 are likely to broaden and deepen the discussions on climate mitigation, an inclusive Just Transition, embracing all green technologies from solar to nuclear – and crucially the need for a more inclusive climate finance for UN SDG Development agenda.
Enabling Science and Tech Innovation STI and AI co-operation within BRICS
The Covid pandemic and ‘vaccine nationalism-hoarding’ have shown the need for nation-states to develop local innovation capability to deal with emergencies – from pandemics to climate technologies. Here BRICS’ core powers are in prime positions to assist S&T and innovation systems co-operation and new norms. Patent access, local production and technology transfer programmes are expanding within BRICS in science and innovation and AI. A Cooperation Agreement on the BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation would be a huge boost for BRICS Global South nations to manage climate emergencies and assist in development planning etc.
Arts Culture and Sports within BRICS
Finally, the recent Olympics and the rise of Sports and Arts and Culture as global unifying, with many new codes showcase the strategic importance of arts, sports and culture for signalling social change and ensuring a healthier and socially cohesive world order.
With the recent UN Summit of the Future 2024 and the worrying trend of swathes of the Global South, especially Africa and South East Asia falling behind on meeting their UN Sustainable Development Goals SDGs, the BRICS Plus bloc with its deepening array of programs, developing new norms in the global system, deepening new institutions and formats such as the BRICS NDB and new BRICS currency systems et al, are in the prime position to be the engine of global growth and development of the decades ahead.
A new world order beckons on the back of the big BRICS bloc. It is within grasp in light of the crisis of legitimacy as the West and its inability to sustain its ‘human rights’ liberal international order with a serious commitment to fairness and justice for all.
Another World Is Possible!
* Siphamandla Zondi and Ashraf Patel are based at the Institute for Global African Affairs, University of Johannesburg.
** The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of