By Nicholas Larsen, International Banker
“Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security” was the central theme promoted at the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24, with the Kazan Declaration—the document adopted at the summit by all BRICS+ members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa plus Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) that outlines key areas of cooperation and the members’ unified stance on various global issues—focusing heavily on this theme. With monumental meetings staged between BRICS members that seemingly did much to strengthen relations and iron out previous frictions, the summit was largely deemed a success towards advancing global economic growth and peaceful development.
Indeed, the Kazan Declaration highlighted the essential role that BRICS can play in promoting economic development among emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs), arguing that extending BRICS partnerships to more EMDCs will strengthen solidarity and international cooperation. “We note the emergence of new centres of power, policy decision-making and economic growth, which can pave the way for a more equitable, just, democratic and balanced multipolar world order,” the declaration stated. “Multipolarity can expand opportunities for EMDCs to unlock their constructive potential and enjoy universally beneficial, inclusive and equitable economic globalization and cooperation.”
Those extended partnerships can be observed in the 13 BRICS “partner” nations that were invited to join the bloc: Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, all of which are expected to become full members at a later date. As such, full membership remains confined to the original five nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, plus the five nations officially added at the start of the year—Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—with the declaration acknowledging the “considerable interest” from countries of the Global South in BRICS and also endorsing the new BRICS Partner Country Category.
On the economic front, meanwhile, a series of announcements and proposals were put forth during the summit, perhaps the most notable of which was Russia’s push to establish a grain exchange. According to figures from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Foreign Agricultural Service, the 10 BRICS members account for around 44 percent of the world’s grain production and consumption and almost one-quarter of global grain exports.
“Several BRICS countries are among the world’s largest producers of grains, leguminous crops, and oilseeds. In this regard, we proposed establishing a BRICS Grain Exchange, which would help discover fair and predictable prices for products and raw materials, since the latter have a special role to play in ensuring food security,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a summit meeting. “Once implemented, this initiative would help protect national markets from adverse external interference, speculation, and attempts to create artificial food shortages.” Over time, Putin added, the group could also consider transforming the grain exchange into a fully operational commodity exchange.
Russia is also in discussions with fellow BRICS members over the creation of an international precious-metals exchange. “The mechanism will include the creation of price indicators for metals, standards for the production and trade of bullion, and instruments for accrediting market participants, clearing, and auditing within BRICS,” according to Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov. The proposed platform would also ostensibly rival existing Western metals exchanges, such as the London Metal Exchange (LME), and would help to protect metals trading from financial sanctions levied by the West against Russia and other BRICS nations, such as Iran.
Indeed, the Kazan Declaration makes explicitly clear the concerns BRICS members have over the role that sanctions play in suppressing the economic potential of countries all over the world, as well as disrupting the global economy, international trade and efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unlawful and coercive unilateral measures, including illegal sanctions, the declaration states, “undermine the UN Charter, the multilateral trading system, the sustainable development and environmental agreements”. They also “negatively impact economic growth, energy, health and food security, exacerbating poverty and environmental challenges”.
The BRICS group, which now accounts for 37 percent of global economic output, stood united in calling for the end of such punitive economic actions. “We reiterate that the unilateral coercive measures, inter alia in the form of unilateral economic sanctions and secondary sanctions that are contrary to international law, have far-reaching implications for the human rights, including the right to development, of the general population of targeted states, disproportionally affecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations,” the declaration added. “Therefore, we call for their elimination.”
Elsewhere, BRICS members reiterated their support for their jointly funded development-finance institution, the New Development Bank (NDB), which is emerging as a crucial alternative to the Western-controlled World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). “We support the NDB in continuously expanding local currency financing and strengthening innovation in investment and financing tools,” the declaration stated, adding that members are encouraging the institution to pursue “innovative financing mechanisms to mobilise financing from diversified sources”. In this regard, BRICS confirmed the initiative to create a new investment platform, which leverages the NDB’s existing institutional infrastructure to boost investment flows “into the countries of BRICS and the Global South mechanisms”.
That spirit of innovation extends to cross-border financial infrastructure, with BRICS members recognising the importance of exploring the feasibility of connecting BRICS countries’ financial-market systems. “We agree to discuss and study the feasibility of [the] establishment of an independent cross-border settlement and depositary infrastructure, BRICS Clear, an initiative to complement the existing financial market infrastructure, as well as BRICS independent reinsurance capacity, including BRICS (Re)Insurance Company, with participation on a voluntary basis,” the declaration also confirmed.
But perhaps the summit’s most enduring highlight of all was the hugely productive meeting held on the sidelines between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with both leaders committing to reducing long-heightened tensions along the border separating their respective nations—tensions that have periodically flared since the two countries went to war in 1962.
According to Bhim Bhurtel, a former executive director of the Kathmandu-based think tank Nepal South Asia Center, Modi’s policies aimed at allying closely with the United States have proven to be fundamentally misguided. “The ongoing border tensions with China have diverted India’s national priorities and squandered scarce financial resources,” Bhurtel recently wrote in Asia Times. “The first and second terms of Modi’s government have marked one of the worst decades in India’s history in regard to international relations. During this period, India has incurred unprecedented opportunity costs while experimenting with international and geopolitical strategies. In his third term, Modi is looking to reverse the course by shifting from the US to China.”
To defuse hostilities, both parties reportedly agreed at the summit to make good use of the Special Representative mechanism (SRM) on the India-China border issue, which was initially constituted to promote a peaceful, diplomatic and fair solution to the matter. Beijing later confirmed that the two sides had “reached a solution” after “close communication on relevant issues of the China-India border through diplomatic and military channels”.
According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (MFA) report, President Xi Jinping also stressed to his Indian counterpart that relations between the two countries were essentially a question of how the two large developing countries and neighbours treat each other. “Development is now the biggest shared goal of China and India. The two sides should continue to uphold their important understandings, including that China and India are each other’s development opportunity rather than threat, and cooperation partner rather than competitor,” the Ministry also noted. “They should maintain a sound strategic perception of each other and work together to find the right and bright path for big, neighbouring countries to live in harmony and develop side by side.”
As for Modi, the Indian prime minister reportedly highlighted the development of India-China relations as important for the well-being and future of the 2.8 billion people of the two nations, as well as for the peace and stability of the region. “Against a complex international landscape, cooperation between India and China, two ancient civilizations and engines of economic growth, can help drive economic recovery and promote multipolarity in the world,” the MFA report added. “India is willing to strengthen strategic communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation with China. It will give every support for China’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) presidency and strengthen communication and cooperation with China in BRICS and other multilateral frameworks.”
Similarly, Russia’s President Putin held talks with the recently elected Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, as the two countries continue to strengthen bilateral ties in the face of an onslaught of economic sanctions levied against them and in anticipation of them jointly signing a treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership that, much to the chagrin of the West, includes closer defence cooperation.
The Russian president reiterated the need to “consolidate the emerging positive trends in trade and economic cooperation” with major joint projects, with the development of Iranian railway infrastructure, the International North-South Transport Corridor and the construction of the second and third power units at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) among the key cooperative planks of these flourishing economic relations. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the end of 2023 also “significantly contributes to the expansion of economic ties,” Putin added.
Pezeshkian, meanwhile, expressed his confidence that both nations “will be able to neutralise all the sanctions the United States has imposed on us, on you and us, and we shall be able to straighten out all the processes they are attempting to disrupt”. The Iranian president also highlighted further arenas of collaboration, both within BRICS and through Iran’s joining of the EAEU and China’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). “Our relations across various spheres—economic, political, and cultural—are developing exceedingly well. I am certain that we will soon be able to sign the treaty. At the earliest opportunity, we shall finalise this issue; we shall agree on this matter,” Pezeshkian added.