Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: With Russian President Vladimir Putin, fearing arrest, keeping away from the BRICS Summit, the five emerging economies’ bloc will discuss a range of issues during its three-day event to be held in South Africa next week.
The BRICS group of major emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—will hold its 15th Heads of State and Government Summit in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the first in-person Summit of the group after the interregnum since 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend it in person because of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him and his associates for their alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Putin will participate in the Summit virtually and will be represented in Johannesburg by his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
A key subject likely to surface during the meeting is the expansion of BRICS on which the leaders are divided on how to add new members, including their admission criteria.
Over 40 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Indonesia, Egypt, and Ethiopia, have expressed interest in joining BRICS, according to South African officials.
China, seeking to expand its influence amid its tussles with the United States over trade and geopolitics, supports the BRICS’ expansion, while Brazil is skeptical, the media reported on Friday.
South Africa also favors new members. Russia, hoping to overcome its diplomatic isolation over the Ukraine war, is too keen to bring in new members,
But India is undecided as increased membership might go in China’s favor.
The BRICS bloc may also discuss how to boost local currency fundraising and lending within the New Development Bank (NDB), or the “BRICS Bank.”
In what is viewed as an attempted de-dollarization, South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said local currency use will help de-risk the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations.
The US dollar has gained against emerging market currencies since Russia invaded Ukraine and the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to fight inflation in early 2022, making dollar debt more costly for those countries to service.
While the NDB, established in 2015, is still looking at the potential use of alternative currencies, there will be no talk about a common BRICS currency during the Summit, the media reported.
The NDB is also expanding and the Summit could become a key platform to attract more member countries. Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt joined the bank in the last three years. Uruguay is partway through the process of joining, while Algeria, Honduras, Zimbabwe, and Saudi Arabia have expressed interest.
The BRICS leaders may also discuss improving economic ties between their diverse economies, trade, and investment opportunities in sectors ranging from energy cooperation and infrastructure development to the digital economy and the job market.
The last day of the Summit may focus on talks with leaders from other countries.
Johannesburg has invited 67 leaders from across Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said.
France had expressed interest but President Emmanuel Macron was not invited to join the Summit as Russia was opposed to this because of French support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion.