In this episode of Worldview, we discuss the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, what are the big messages that the BRICS expansion, taking in 6 more members going out to the world and more
This week on Worldview, the BRICS summit in Johannesburg ended with a bang, both multilaterally, and bilaterally- between India and China. Will the Modi-Xi meeting make peace at the Line of Actual Control, and what are the big messages that the BRICS expansion, taking in 6 more members going out to the world?
Ramaphosa “ We have decided to invite—Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE to become full members of BRICS”
This week we have a lot to unpack with all that happened at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg- but let’s just start with the big bilateral meeting that resulted in what seems like an India-China détente in South Africa. PM Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit held on August 23rd- where leaders of Brazil Russia India China and South Africa held two plenary sessions- and we will tell you about the BRICS outcomes in just a bit. The meeting was revealed a day later by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra briefing the media about the 3-day event:
Kwatra: “In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of China PM highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India/China border areas. PM Modi underlined that the maintenance of peace & tranquility in the border areas & observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India/ China relationship. In this regard the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation.”
1. This was the first such conversation between the two leaders in 3 years- since the April 2020 standoff, Chinese transgressions at the LAC and Galwan killings. Last year they had spoken briefly at the Bali G20, but that conversation, on stabilizing the boundary had not borne fruit. Remember, prior to 2020- Modi and Xi had met 18 times in 6 years.
2. In the run-up to the meeting in Johannesburg, Indian and Chinese border commanders have been meeting at Chushul-Moldo, and even after talks in the 19th round held on August 14 did not succeed, continued to speak about disengagement at standoff points in Depsang and Demchok, indicating there is already some political instruction to try and forge a breakthrough
3. The détente comes just two and a half weeks before India’s G20 summit, where President Xi is invited, and Modi and Xi are also invited to the East Asia summit in Jakarta before that, so there are opportunities to take the discussions on normalizing the LAC further
4. If the process goes smoothly from here, it will most resemble the resolution of the Doklam crisis in 2017- where Modi Xi met at Hamburg in July and agreed to disengagement, and the process was completed by the time PM Modi traveled to China for the BRICS summit in September- later Modi also travelled to Wuhan for the informal summit.
5. However, it is significant that while the two sides are speaking about respecting the LAC, disengagement and de-escalation, there is no mention of India’s earlier stand of reversing the situation to pre-April 2020, or status quo ante- and it remains to be seen if the new normal on the boundary is sustainable.
Let’s turn then to what else happened at the BRICS summit, where there were a number of events over 3 days:
1. BRICS summit- BRICS leaders met for 2 plenary sessions, one closed door and another open- Russian President Putin did not attend in person, owing to the fact that there was an ICC warrant issued against him, and South Africa is an ICC country, and Russian FM Lavrov took his place.
This BRICS was significant for a number of reasons:
1. First in-person summit since 2019, and covid pandemic
2. First time leaders are meeting since Ukraine war- and remember, all BRICS countries have chosen not to join Western sanctions on Russia since then
3. First time since President Lula of Brazil was re-elected- he was a founder leader of BRICS along with Putin, Xi and PM Manmohan Singh
4. First time since 2010 that the BRICS decided to expand
5. The next 3 G20 summits including the one in Delhi next month will be held in BRICS countries
2. BRICS retreat- Leaders met together in one room
3. BRICS business forum – Leaders attended for a short while, and PM Modi made a push for resilient supply chains
Modi: “The COVID pandemic has taught us the importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains. Mutual trust and transparency are crucial for this.“
4. BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus countries- more than 70 countries were invited from the Global South including 55 African Union countries – of these, more than 40 have shown an interest in BRICS membership, and 22 have formally sent in applications.
Outcomes- Here are the big takeaways from the Johannesburg II BRICS joint declaration
1. Induction of 6 new members effective January 1, 2024 is a dramatic development. How will BRICS change with the new members from 2024, and what is the message they are sending the world:
1. The doubling of BRICS – from 5 to 11, is an indicator that far from disintegrating or becoming irrelevant, BRICS members intend to double down on this coalition of emerging non-western developing economies, that first thought up in 2001.
2. BRICS is being pitched as a counter-western grouping – especially post Ukraine war and global economic polarization- as none of the new members have joined sanctions against Russia.
3. While BRICS doesn’t match the wealth of the G-7 countries- Brics countries accounted for 32 per cent of global GDP against the G7’s 30 per cent, and represent 40% of the world population- in comparison the G7 represent just 10 percent- and thus aims to pose a challenge
4. The induction of 4 major Middle East Players- Egypt, Iran, KSA and Saudi gives BRICS a major boost – as these countries have been at odds with each other. The china brokered Saudi-Iran peace deal is also one of the reasons for this.
5. Along with the new members- BRICS now includes 6 of the world’s top ten energy suppliers, and this will give the grouping heft in a new direction Including a new member from Africa and South America each makes BRICS a more representative coalition of the Global South
2. They also agreed on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process of the future.
3. A big push for UN reforms: The statement for the first time in the recent past said that BRICS countries “support a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council’s memberships” and support aspirations of Brazil, India and South Africa, “to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the United Nations, including its Security Council.”
4. While the leaders didn’t speak about a BRICS currency, they are working on increasing intra-BRICS payments in national currencies not the dollar. They agreed to task Finance Ministers and/or Central Bank Governors to present a report on payment mechanisms by the next summit
5. Pushed for BRICS space cooperation, particularly for remote sensing satellite data sharing and applications- all BRICS members commended India for the successful launch of Chandrayaan 3- the first to explore the far side of the moon
6. Called for support for India’s G20 Summit, where all BRICS members are participating
What should India watch out for:
1. The rapid expansion of members could dilute the original purpose of the BRICS grouping, especially if China is seen as taking a dominant position in the grouping
2. India is uncomfortable with BRICS becoming an anti-western grouping, given its close ties with the US and other western countries, particularly in the strategic sphere
3. While India has welcomed the induction of Iran, PM Modi met Iran President Raisi, the sanctions Iran faces might make intra-BRICS trade even more difficult to grow- both Russia and Iran are now off the SWIFT system
4. Tensions between middle eastern countries may now make BRICS more unwieldy to run- esp if Saudi-Iran, or Saudi-UAE faultlines grow
5. As the BRICS, an economic grouping becomes more strategic and political, India may find its balancing act with the Quad, SCO and IPEF more difficult
WV Take
The growth of BRICS from a grouping of rag-tag “also rans” that denoted the “rise of the rest” as opposed to the more elite and exclusive G7 club is a welcome development that would aim to democratize global governance groupings. For India, that still aims to keep its feet in both boats, however, it is important to ensure that BRICS does not lose its intrinsic value as a forum for emerging economies, into a platform for anti-western statements reduced to a talk shop, as the NAM once did.
Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | BRICS Summit | What could the group’s expansion mean for India?
In this episode of Worldview, we discuss the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, what are the big messages that the BRICS expansion, taking in 6 more members going out to the world and more
This week on Worldview, the BRICS summit in Johannesburg ended with a bang, both multilaterally, and bilaterally- between India and China. Will the Modi-Xi meeting make peace at the Line of Actual Control, and what are the big messages that the BRICS expansion, taking in 6 more members going out to the world?
Ramaphosa “ We have decided to invite—Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE to become full members of BRICS”
This week we have a lot to unpack with all that happened at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg- but let’s just start with the big bilateral meeting that resulted in what seems like an India-China détente in South Africa. PM Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit held on August 23rd- where leaders of Brazil Russia India China and South Africa held two plenary sessions- and we will tell you about the BRICS outcomes in just a bit. The meeting was revealed a day later by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra briefing the media about the 3-day event:
Kwatra: “In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of China PM highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India/China border areas. PM Modi underlined that the maintenance of peace & tranquility in the border areas & observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India/ China relationship. In this regard the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation.”
1. This was the first such conversation between the two leaders in 3 years- since the April 2020 standoff, Chinese transgressions at the LAC and Galwan killings. Last year they had spoken briefly at the Bali G20, but that conversation, on stabilizing the boundary had not borne fruit. Remember, prior to 2020- Modi and Xi had met 18 times in 6 years.
2. In the run-up to the meeting in Johannesburg, Indian and Chinese border commanders have been meeting at Chushul-Moldo, and even after talks in the 19th round held on August 14 did not succeed, continued to speak about disengagement at standoff points in Depsang and Demchok, indicating there is already some political instruction to try and forge a breakthrough
3. The détente comes just two and a half weeks before India’s G20 summit, where President Xi is invited, and Modi and Xi are also invited to the East Asia summit in Jakarta before that, so there are opportunities to take the discussions on normalizing the LAC further
4. If the process goes smoothly from here, it will most resemble the resolution of the Doklam crisis in 2017- where Modi Xi met at Hamburg in July and agreed to disengagement, and the process was completed by the time PM Modi traveled to China for the BRICS summit in September- later Modi also travelled to Wuhan for the informal summit.
5. However, it is significant that while the two sides are speaking about respecting the LAC, disengagement and de-escalation, there is no mention of India’s earlier stand of reversing the situation to pre-April 2020, or status quo ante- and it remains to be seen if the new normal on the boundary is sustainable.
Let’s turn then to what else happened at the BRICS summit, where there were a number of events over 3 days:
1. BRICS summit- BRICS leaders met for 2 plenary sessions, one closed door and another open- Russian President Putin did not attend in person, owing to the fact that there was an ICC warrant issued against him, and South Africa is an ICC country, and Russian FM Lavrov took his place.
This BRICS was significant for a number of reasons:
1. First in-person summit since 2019, and covid pandemic
2. First time leaders are meeting since Ukraine war- and remember, all BRICS countries have chosen not to join Western sanctions on Russia since then
3. First time since President Lula of Brazil was re-elected- he was a founder leader of BRICS along with Putin, Xi and PM Manmohan Singh
4. First time since 2010 that the BRICS decided to expand
5. The next 3 G20 summits including the one in Delhi next month will be held in BRICS countries
2. BRICS retreat- Leaders met together in one room
3. BRICS business forum – Leaders attended for a short while, and PM Modi made a push for resilient supply chains
Modi: “The COVID pandemic has taught us the importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains. Mutual trust and transparency are crucial for this.“
4. BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus countries- more than 70 countries were invited from the Global South including 55 African Union countries – of these, more than 40 have shown an interest in BRICS membership, and 22 have formally sent in applications.
Outcomes- Here are the big takeaways from the Johannesburg II BRICS joint declaration
1. Induction of 6 new members effective January 1, 2024 is a dramatic development. How will BRICS change with the new members from 2024, and what is the message they are sending the world:
1. The doubling of BRICS – from 5 to 11, is an indicator that far from disintegrating or becoming irrelevant, BRICS members intend to double down on this coalition of emerging non-western developing economies, that first thought up in 2001.
2. BRICS is being pitched as a counter-western grouping – especially post Ukraine war and global economic polarization- as none of the new members have joined sanctions against Russia.
3. While BRICS doesn’t match the wealth of the G-7 countries- Brics countries accounted for 32 per cent of global GDP against the G7’s 30 per cent, and represent 40% of the world population- in comparison the G7 represent just 10 percent- and thus aims to pose a challenge
4. The induction of 4 major Middle East Players- Egypt, Iran, KSA and Saudi gives BRICS a major boost – as these countries have been at odds with each other. The china brokered Saudi-Iran peace deal is also one of the reasons for this.
5. Along with the new members- BRICS now includes 6 of the world’s top ten energy suppliers, and this will give the grouping heft in a new direction Including a new member from Africa and South America each makes BRICS a more representative coalition of the Global South
2. They also agreed on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process of the future.
3. A big push for UN reforms: The statement for the first time in the recent past said that BRICS countries “support a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council’s memberships” and support aspirations of Brazil, India and South Africa, “to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the United Nations, including its Security Council.”
4. While the leaders didn’t speak about a BRICS currency, they are working on increasing intra-BRICS payments in national currencies not the dollar. They agreed to task Finance Ministers and/or Central Bank Governors to present a report on payment mechanisms by the next summit
5. Pushed for BRICS space cooperation, particularly for remote sensing satellite data sharing and applications- all BRICS members commended India for the successful launch of Chandrayaan 3- the first to explore the far side of the moon
6. Called for support for India’s G20 Summit, where all BRICS members are participating
What should India watch out for:
1. The rapid expansion of members could dilute the original purpose of the BRICS grouping, especially if China is seen as taking a dominant position in the grouping
2. India is uncomfortable with BRICS becoming an anti-western grouping, given its close ties with the US and other western countries, particularly in the strategic sphere
3. While India has welcomed the induction of Iran, PM Modi met Iran President Raisi, the sanctions Iran faces might make intra-BRICS trade even more difficult to grow- both Russia and Iran are now off the SWIFT system
4. Tensions between middle eastern countries may now make BRICS more unwieldy to run- esp if Saudi-Iran, or Saudi-UAE faultlines grow
5. As the BRICS, an economic grouping becomes more strategic and political, India may find its balancing act with the Quad, SCO and IPEF more difficult
WV Take
The growth of BRICS from a grouping of rag-tag “also rans” that denoted the “rise of the rest” as opposed to the more elite and exclusive G7 club is a welcome development that would aim to democratize global governance groupings. For India, that still aims to keep its feet in both boats, however, it is important to ensure that BRICS does not lose its intrinsic value as a forum for emerging economies, into a platform for anti-western statements reduced to a talk shop, as the NAM once did.
Worldview with Suhasini Haidar | BRICS Summit | What could the group’s expansion mean for India?
In this episode of Worldview, we discuss the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, what are the big messages that the BRICS expansion, taking in 6 more members going out to the world and more
This week on Worldview, the BRICS summit in Johannesburg ended with a bang, both multilaterally, and bilaterally- between India and China. Will the Modi-Xi meeting make peace at the Line of Actual Control, and what are the big messages that the BRICS expansion, taking in 6 more members going out to the world?
Ramaphosa “ We have decided to invite—Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE to become full members of BRICS”
This week we have a lot to unpack with all that happened at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg- but let’s just start with the big bilateral meeting that resulted in what seems like an India-China détente in South Africa. PM Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit held on August 23rd- where leaders of Brazil Russia India China and South Africa held two plenary sessions- and we will tell you about the BRICS outcomes in just a bit. The meeting was revealed a day later by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra briefing the media about the 3-day event:
Kwatra: “In a conversation with President Xi Jinping of China PM highlighted India’s concerns on the unresolved issues along the LAC in the western sector of the India/China border areas. PM Modi underlined that the maintenance of peace & tranquility in the border areas & observing and respecting the LAC are essential for the normalisation of the India/ China relationship. In this regard the two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation.”
1. This was the first such conversation between the two leaders in 3 years- since the April 2020 standoff, Chinese transgressions at the LAC and Galwan killings. Last year they had spoken briefly at the Bali G20, but that conversation, on stabilizing the boundary had not borne fruit. Remember, prior to 2020- Modi and Xi had met 18 times in 6 years.
2. In the run-up to the meeting in Johannesburg, Indian and Chinese border commanders have been meeting at Chushul-Moldo, and even after talks in the 19th round held on August 14 did not succeed, continued to speak about disengagement at standoff points in Depsang and Demchok, indicating there is already some political instruction to try and forge a breakthrough
3. The détente comes just two and a half weeks before India’s G20 summit, where President Xi is invited, and Modi and Xi are also invited to the East Asia summit in Jakarta before that, so there are opportunities to take the discussions on normalizing the LAC further
4. If the process goes smoothly from here, it will most resemble the resolution of the Doklam crisis in 2017- where Modi Xi met at Hamburg in July and agreed to disengagement, and the process was completed by the time PM Modi traveled to China for the BRICS summit in September- later Modi also travelled to Wuhan for the informal summit.
5. However, it is significant that while the two sides are speaking about respecting the LAC, disengagement and de-escalation, there is no mention of India’s earlier stand of reversing the situation to pre-April 2020, or status quo ante- and it remains to be seen if the new normal on the boundary is sustainable.
Let’s turn then to what else happened at the BRICS summit, where there were a number of events over 3 days:
1. BRICS summit- BRICS leaders met for 2 plenary sessions, one closed door and another open- Russian President Putin did not attend in person, owing to the fact that there was an ICC warrant issued against him, and South Africa is an ICC country, and Russian FM Lavrov took his place.
This BRICS was significant for a number of reasons:
1. First in-person summit since 2019, and covid pandemic
2. First time leaders are meeting since Ukraine war- and remember, all BRICS countries have chosen not to join Western sanctions on Russia since then
3. First time since President Lula of Brazil was re-elected- he was a founder leader of BRICS along with Putin, Xi and PM Manmohan Singh
4. First time since 2010 that the BRICS decided to expand
5. The next 3 G20 summits including the one in Delhi next month will be held in BRICS countries
2. BRICS retreat- Leaders met together in one room
3. BRICS business forum – Leaders attended for a short while, and PM Modi made a push for resilient supply chains
Modi: “The COVID pandemic has taught us the importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains. Mutual trust and transparency are crucial for this.“
4. BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus countries- more than 70 countries were invited from the Global South including 55 African Union countries – of these, more than 40 have shown an interest in BRICS membership, and 22 have formally sent in applications.
Outcomes- Here are the big takeaways from the Johannesburg II BRICS joint declaration
1. Induction of 6 new members effective January 1, 2024 is a dramatic development. How will BRICS change with the new members from 2024, and what is the message they are sending the world:
1. The doubling of BRICS – from 5 to 11, is an indicator that far from disintegrating or becoming irrelevant, BRICS members intend to double down on this coalition of emerging non-western developing economies, that first thought up in 2001.
2. BRICS is being pitched as a counter-western grouping – especially post Ukraine war and global economic polarization- as none of the new members have joined sanctions against Russia.
3. While BRICS doesn’t match the wealth of the G-7 countries- Brics countries accounted for 32 per cent of global GDP against the G7’s 30 per cent, and represent 40% of the world population- in comparison the G7 represent just 10 percent- and thus aims to pose a challenge
4. The induction of 4 major Middle East Players- Egypt, Iran, KSA and Saudi gives BRICS a major boost – as these countries have been at odds with each other. The china brokered Saudi-Iran peace deal is also one of the reasons for this.
5. Along with the new members- BRICS now includes 6 of the world’s top ten energy suppliers, and this will give the grouping heft in a new direction Including a new member from Africa and South America each makes BRICS a more representative coalition of the Global South
2. They also agreed on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process of the future.
3. A big push for UN reforms: The statement for the first time in the recent past said that BRICS countries “support a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council’s memberships” and support aspirations of Brazil, India and South Africa, “to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the United Nations, including its Security Council.”
4. While the leaders didn’t speak about a BRICS currency, they are working on increasing intra-BRICS payments in national currencies not the dollar. They agreed to task Finance Ministers and/or Central Bank Governors to present a report on payment mechanisms by the next summit
5. Pushed for BRICS space cooperation, particularly for remote sensing satellite data sharing and applications- all BRICS members commended India for the successful launch of Chandrayaan 3- the first to explore the far side of the moon
6. Called for support for India’s G20 Summit, where all BRICS members are participating
What should India watch out for:
1. The rapid expansion of members could dilute the original purpose of the BRICS grouping, especially if China is seen as taking a dominant position in the grouping
2. India is uncomfortable with BRICS becoming an anti-western grouping, given its close ties with the US and other western countries, particularly in the strategic sphere
3. While India has welcomed the induction of Iran, PM Modi met Iran President Raisi, the sanctions Iran faces might make intra-BRICS trade even more difficult to grow- both Russia and Iran are now off the SWIFT system
4. Tensions between middle eastern countries may now make BRICS more unwieldy to run- esp if Saudi-Iran, or Saudi-UAE faultlines grow
5. As the BRICS, an economic grouping becomes more strategic and political, India may find its balancing act with the Quad, SCO and IPEF more difficult
WV Take
The growth of BRICS from a grouping of rag-tag “also rans” that denoted the “rise of the rest” as opposed to the more elite and exclusive G7 club is a welcome development that would aim to democratize global governance groupings. For India, that still aims to keep its feet in both boats, however, it is important to ensure that BRICS does not lose its intrinsic value as a forum for emerging economies, into a platform for anti-western statements reduced to a talk shop, as the NAM once did.
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