BRICS summit starts in South Africa: Lavrov and Xi Jinping arrive

This is reported by Espreso.

This is the 15th time the leaders of these countries are meeting. The summit is happening from August 22 to 24.

Right now, China's leader Xi Jinping and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is attending instead of dictator Vladimir Putin, have reached South Africa. Putin is planning to join the summit online.

Xi Jinping thinks the BRICS summit is  "an important historical milestone". He also believes it will make developing countries closer.

On Tuesday evening, the leaders will have a quick meeting and dinner. During this, they will probably talk about the rules and requirements for letting new countries join.

BRICS meeting focus

According to Reuters, the gathering will talk about using the local currencies of the member nations more widely. The organizers from South Africa, where the summit is being held, mentioned that they will not be discussing a "BRICS currency." Earlier, Brazil proposed an alternative to relying on the dollar.

The meeting will also cover expanding the bloc. China has long wanted this, hoping that more members will make the bloc stronger. Currently, BRICS nations have about 40% of the world's population and contribute to a quarter of the global GDP.

Over 40 countries, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Algeria, Bolivia, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan, are interested in joining BRICS, as per South African officials. Nearly 20 of them officially asked to join.

These countries view BRICS as an option to global organizations mainly controlled by Western powers. They hope that being part of BRICS will bring advantages like funding for development, increased trade, and more investment.

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified dissatisfaction among developing countries with the global order. Rich countries stored vaccines, which highlighted the issue.

Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, and others attended "friends of BRICS" discussions in Cape Town in June. Russia and Brazil support these new additions. Argentina got China's official support in 2022 to join BRICS.

Ethiopia, a rapidly growing African economy, applied to join in June. The country wants to work with international institutions to safeguard its interests.

Bolivian President Luis Arce is interested in BRICS membership and plans to attend the summit. In July, Bolivia announced it aims to use the Chinese yuan instead of the US dollar for trade, aligning with BRICS' goal to reduce reliance on the US currency.

Algeria also applied for BRICS membership in July. It became a shareholder in the New Development Bank, also known as the BRICS Bank. Algeria aims to diversify its economy, build stronger ties with China and other nations, and has significant oil and gas resources.

What we know about BRICS and its summit

BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is a group formed by these countries to promote economic cooperation, multilateral trade, and development alongside geopolitics.

The term BRICS was created in 2001 by Jim O'Neill, then the chief economist of Goldman Sachs, to highlight the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Established in 2009, this informal club offers a platform for its members to challenge the prevailing world order led by the United States and its Western allies.

Russia initiated the creation of the group. Unlike formal organizations like the UN or World Bank, BRICS is not an official multilateral body. The heads of state and government from these countries hold annual meetings, with each member taking a one-year presidency.

Interestingly, South Africa, the smallest member in terms of economic influence and population, joined the group in 2010, expanding it to BRICS.

In mid-April, South Africa mentioned that a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued by a court in The Hague, could complicate matters ahead of the August BRICS summit.

By May 1, South African authorities informally warned Russia that they might arrest Putin based on an International Criminal Court warrant if he attended the BRICS summit.

In late May, South Africa announced it wouldn't reverse the International Court of Justice decisions but would grant diplomatic immunity to BRICS summit participants in August.

On July 14, Cyril Ramaphosa stated Putin's intention to personally attend the BRICS summit. Later, Ramaphosa mentioned that the Kremlin warned him of potential war if Putin was arrested during the event.

However, on July 19, it became known that Putin had decided to refuse to personally attend the BRICS summit in South Africa because of the possible arrest of the ICC. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia in person, with Putin participating online. The US State Department labeled Putin an "international pariah."

Soon after, it was confirmed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would personally join the BRICS leaders' meeting in South Africa.

On August 21, CNN speculated that Putin's absence at the BRICS summit indicated Russia's isolation and his limited global influence.

Likewise, the Financial Times proposed that multiple countries might receive simultaneous invitations to the BRICS summit.