'BRICS Summit Has Shown That Western-Led Multilateralism is Dead', Expert Says

The BRICS bloc has become a powerful global force, especially with Russia's leadership-driving initiatives focused on different aspects, Dr. Nonkululeko Mantula, CEO of GSQ Media House and Head of Communication for BRICS Business Women's Alliance South African Chapter, tells Global South Pole.

“We have also seen the robustness of movement within businesses despite the fact that Russia has been sanctioned […] But Russia, chairing this 16th BRICS summit, has been an eye-opener that these sanctions are not something we should be lamenting about, but we as the Global South can start working towards making sure that these sanctions don't hinder us when we work together collectively,” she says.

Responding to the speech of the South African president in which he stated that “South Africa, like most of the world, desires the smooth operation of supply chains, trade, tourism, and financial flows free from external influence in a multipolar world,” Dr. Mantula indicated that Africa is prepared to engage in global trade, highlighting that the continent has significantly increased its contribution to the world's GDP, tripling it between 1991 and 2021.

“Given the fact that we have more than 40% of global minerals means that Africa is ready for business. Africa is ready to engage as a global player. So utilizing the BRICS bloc and utilizing the mechanisms of the Global South via BRICS Plus bloc, we will be able to see an Africa that is contributing even more to global GDP, sustainable development, and peace, and security being a very important factor that we need to consider,” she explains.

Samir Bhattacharya, an associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, India describes, the key takeaway from the event as whether emerging economies and nations like Russia, China, and India could unite, noting that the participation of these leaders demonstrated that Russia is not isolated, contrary to Western narratives.

The Indian researcher points out that a recurring theme in the speeches of all the BRICS leaders was an emphasis on multipolarity and multilateralism.

“If you hear the speeches of all the BRICS leaders, you hear one word repeatedly: it is multipolarity and multilateralism. So, unfortunately, many scholars who have been saying that multilateralism is dead—I think it is not dead; I think this summit has shown that Western-led multilateralism is dead. The new-age multilateralism, which is coming, It is going to stay, and it will be led by the Global South,” Bhattacharya echoes.

Dr. Cliff Mboya, a researcher at the Center for Africa-China Studies, University of Johannesburg, South Africa describes, the call by the Chinese president that “BRICS should be a stabilizing in maintaining peace and managing global security” as crucial to ensuring that the voices of countries, particularly in the Global South, are heard, allowing them to play a significant role in advancing world peace and countering extreme positions that are often driven by selfish interests.

“So we need to have a global perspective of peace so that we look at peace from the perspective of the interests of all countries. It cannot be that global security is viewed from the interest of a few countries. So I think that is important,” Dr. Mboya ponders.

To find out what else our guests had to say, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.

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