In the next few hours, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez, will participate in the BRICS Summit to be held from August 22-24 in South Africa. . Regarding their presence at this important event, the press team of the Presidency of the Republic spoke with Rodolfo Benitez Verson, Director General of Multilateral Affairs and International Law at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who exchanged important ideas that help to better understand the work of this group and its importance in the current international scene.
At the outset, we would like you to help us convey to our readers, in brief, what the BRICS group is, how it came to be, and what role it has played since its foundation on the international arena, economically and politically.
The group known as BRICS was created in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined the group in 2011. The name of the group is derived from the first letters of the names of its five current members.
The first official meeting of BRICS heads of state and government was held in 2009 in Russia. Since then, a total of 14 Summits have been held, with an annual frequency.
The group does not have a permanent secretariat or institutional headquarters. The presidency is annual and rotates among its five members, who undertake the institutionalization, organization and planning of the group’s activities during the year of their tenure. Currently, South Africa holds the position of president.
The BRICS group is a relatively new player in global geopolitics. However, its role and influence in the international arena has increased rapidly in recent years.
And I think the group has the potential to continue to significantly increase its importance on a global level in the future.
The five members collectively represent 41% of the world’s population; 30% of the Earth’s surface; 20% of world exports; 17% of imports, and a third of global food production.
Their economies account for 27% of global GDP, and four of the five members are among the 11 countries with the highest GDPs globally.
Cuba is attending the BRICS summit in South Africa with the invitation as interim chair of the Group of 77 + China, and in fact, four countries that make up the BRICS are also members of this group (India, Brazil, South Africa and, for the most part, China). naturally). Taking into account the diversity of the countries that make up the G-77 + China, what do you think are the issues that the Greater Antilles, which they represent, should not fail to address at this summit?
Cuba certainly attends the BRICS Summit with the great responsibility of representing the Group of 77 and China, the broadest and most diverse group of developing countries present, at this important meeting. Its 134 Member States make up two-thirds of the United Nations membership and 80% of the planet’s population.
This will be the first participation of the Greater Antilles and a Cuban president at the BRICS summit.
Our country has historically maintained excellent relations with the five BRICS members, and our exchanges in multilateral forums are very smooth, based on our close positions on many issues on the international agenda.
At this summit in South Africa, the Cuban delegation will call for enhanced synergy and effective coordination between the BRICS group and the Group of 77 and China, as a means of strengthening the defense of the legitimate claims of the countries of the South and ensuring greater representation and greater participation. The voice of developing countries in the decision-making process within international economic and financial institutions.
We will stress the need for a more stable, predictable and diversified international monetary system. We will defend pluralism and respect for the United Nations Charter and international law.
We will also express our rejection of the imposition of unilateral coercive measures, such as the criminal and illegal blockade imposed by the United States Government on the Cuban people. We will defend the promotion of the international model of solidarity and mutual benefit cooperation, without interfering in the internal affairs of any country.
The BRICS summit is being held at one of the most complex moments for mankind. What are the issues that the Member States have planned to include in the agenda of the meeting? What is this meeting expected to contribute in an international context? so complicated?
The theme of the 15th BRICS Summit, to be held in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24, is: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Accelerated Mutual Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism.”
By the way, this will be the first in-person meeting of the BRICS summit since 2019. Meetings of this kind that were held in the past three years, in Russia, India and China, were virtual, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The South African Summit will be divided into three main moments. On August 22, meetings of the Business Forum, Business Council and New Development Bank of BRICS countries will be held.
On August 23, the BRICS member states will hold a meeting, and the next day the BRICS Plus dialogues will be held, in which Cuba will participate.
Through these dialogues, it is sought to establish a direct channel of communication and exchange between BRICS members and developing countries with similar positions, as is the case in Cuba.
In addition to the main topic of the summit, the dialogues will focus on assessing the current international interdependence of forces; identify ways to improve coordination and coordination among developing countries in favor of promoting a new world order and strengthening multilateralism; reforming the international financial architecture; post-pandemic recovery, and compliance with the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda agreed by the United Nations, among other issues.
The eventual expansion of BRICS membership will also be discussed.
The aim is to offer an alternative vision of the current world order engineered by the advanced Western nations and big transnational corporations, a vision that is deeply unfair and hostile to the progress of our nations in the South.
The current international system is only effective for small minorities. It must be changed, and this is the position on which the BRICS countries and the Group of 77 and China agree, and which Cuba of course defends.
One of the greatest expectations generated around this summit is the alleged ability of the BRICS countries to move towards a multipolar world. But do these countries actually have this capacity?
– Today, no one can question the growing authority of the BRICS group at the international level. The group has high geographical, demographic and economic potential. Its clear intention to seek synergy with other developing countries, as evidenced by the BRICS Plus dialogues in which Cuba will participate on August 24, to promote joint action in the international arena, in my opinion, gives BRICS an increasing potential to become a superpower. It is a solid alternative block to the commercial, financial, economic and political governance model imposed by the centers of power in the West
The necessary conditions are gradually being created for a transition to a multipolar system that balances the United States and Western powers.
Another issue widely discussed in the media is the enlargement of the BRICS group. In fact, there is speculation about the presence of about thirty heads of state and government out of more than fifty official delegations estimated to be going. to Johannesburg. But will the BRICS group expand? What is the political significance and economic impact of this scenario?
An increasing number of developing countries have expressed interest, formally or informally, in joining the BRICS group. This is clearly a reflection of the group’s growing importance on the international stage.
The existing members were preparing for the growth of the organization and creating the conditions to accommodate the new members.
And everything seems to indicate that there will be a gradual process of BRICS enlargement, which could start this year or next. As I indicated earlier, this is precisely one of the topics on the agenda of the BRICS summit in South Africa.
In our view, the eventual enlargement of the BRICS is positive, a fact that would contribute to strengthening its importance and representation at the global level.
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