The economic alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) started its 15th annual summit of leaders in Johannesburg from Tuesday to Thursday.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the event in-person, while Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend via video link. Russia's delegation in Johannesburg will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
South Africa, the bloc's 2023 chair, invited delegations from dozens of other countries and international organizations, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat.
The summit's key focus is expected to be BRICS' possible expansion, as according to South African Sherpa Anil Sooklal 19 countries have expressed their interest in obtaining membership. Other discussion topics on the agenda include economic relations, trade infrastructure and the potential switch to a common currency to reduce member states' reliance on the US dollar.
Who are the participants?
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, China's Xi Jinping, Brazilian Luiz Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend the summit in person.
Vladimir Putin will join via videoconference. The Russian President will address the plenary sessions alongside other leaders of the group. Moscow will, however, be represented face-to-face by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
More than 40 foreign leaders will attend the summit, announced the official representative of the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nelson Kgwete. About twenty personalities, including the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the African Union Commission and the President of the New Development Bank, have also been invited.
Discussions on the agenda
Perhaps the most important and controversial issue is the expansion of BRICS, including admission criteria and guiding principles.
The head of South African diplomacy, shortly before the summit, said that 23 countries had declared their wish to join the organization, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia.
The BRICS group represents more than 40% of the world's population and about 26% of the global economy and provides an alternative forum for countries outside of diplomatic channels considered to be dominated by traditional Western powers. Its influence and economic weight are seen as inspiration for more nations to join. Twenty-three countries have officially applied to become new BRICS members, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Other issues on the agenda include discussions on global geopolitics, trade and infrastructure development. There will also be discussions on how to accelerate the move away from the dollar, in part by increasing the use of local currencies in trade between members – not forgetting the possible BRICS currency.
The Sputnik team is present on site to provide you with reports, interviews and analyses.