The 16th B.R.I.C.S. Summit, attended by delegations from 32 countries and six international organizations, was held in Kazan, Russia, from October 23rd to 25th. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also attended the meeting. At the meeting, the Kazan Declaration was issued, which discussed a series of global challenges, advocated strengthening financial cooperation among B.R.I.C.S. countries, opposed unilateral sanctions, and called for the establishment of a more fair and just international order, and planned to distribute the Kazan Declaration as a common document of B.R.I.C.S. countries at the United Nations to promote more countries’ participation in global decision-making.
South African newspaper Mail & Guardian emphasized that the B.R.I.C.S. countries focus on economic cooperation and development, advocate diversity, seek common ground while reserving differences, and the B.R.I.C.S. cooperation mechanism has become an important platform for the voice of the “Global South”. The Herald of Zimbabwe interviewed experts in the field of politics and economics and wrote that the Kazan meeting will provide important opportunities for promoting economic development on the African continent, global governance reform and strengthening South-South cooperation. South Africa’s Independent Online (I.O.L.) said that the B.R.I.C.S. summit will focus on strengthening multilateralism, promoting equitable global development and security, while exploring deeper cooperation with the Global South. Turkey’s Sabah Daily reported that B.R.I.C.S. countries have become important partners for many emerging markets and developing countries, and that the Global South has received more financial, technical and diplomatic support through cooperation with the B.R.I.C.S. countries.
The meeting was the first to be held after the expansion of the B.R.I.C.S. membership, and the meeting announced the establishment of B.R.I.C.S. partners, according to the “partner country criteria” for membership expansion, and reached an agreement on the list of 13 candidate countries. The meeting highlighted the strengthening of financial cooperation among B.R.I.C.S. countries, proposing the establishment of B.R.I.C.S. Pay, a B.R.I.C.S. payment system, and the establishment of an intra-B.R.I.C.S. food (commodity) trading platform. New members mean new markets, resources and technologies, which will bring new development opportunities for B.R.I.C.S. countries. The B.R.I.C.S. mechanism has injected impetus into the building of a new international order and provided an attractive cooperation model to promote the development of countries in the Global South.
At the beginning of its establishment, B.R.I.C.S. was only an economic concept, but in recent years, with the changes in the international situation, Western countries are worried that it has become a political and even military “small circle”. At present, the 9 B.R.I.C.S. member states are distributed in Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East. Data shows that the expanded B.R.I.C.S. countries account for nearly half of the world’s population, one-fifth of the world’s trade, 35.6% of the global GDP calculated by purchasing power parity, 36% of the world’s crude oil exports, and 43.1% of the world’s oil production. Natural gas accounts for 35.5% of global production and produces 42% of the world’s wheat, 52% of its rice, and 46% of its soybeans. The contribution of the B.R.I.C.S. countries to the global economy now exceeds that of the Group of Seven (G7), which has a significant impact on the global economy and has become a force that cannot be ignored in driving worldwide economic growth. At present, more than 40 countries, including Turkey, a NATO member, have expressed their willingness and interest in applying to join the B.R.I.C.S., and many EU countries have also shown positive sentiments towards the organization. B.R.I.C.S. is expected to create a new type of international economic structure.
The Kazan Meeting decided to establish the “B.R.I.C.S. partner” model, which is highly attractive to developing countries. As the membership continues to grow, B.R.I.C.S. countries need to explore internally how to position themselves and maximize the benefits of all members. Externally, B.R.I.C.S. should be a community for economic development rather than a political alliance, so as to avoid becoming an anti-Western organization that could antagonize the West and aggravate global tensions. This is the great challenge that B.R.I.C.S. countries will face after membership expansion.
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