Latest news with #XVIIBRICSSummit
IOL News
4 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
BRICS Summit 2025: There is no alternative to multilateralism
Heads of State and Government from BRICS Member Countries pose for a family photo at the XVII BRICS Summit at the Museum of Modern Arts held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 7, 2025. Image: GCIS Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva The year 2025 should be a time of celebration, marking eight decades of the United Nations' existence. But it risks going down in history as the year when the international order built since 1945 collapsed. The cracks had long been visible. Since the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the intervention in Libya, and the war in Ukraine, some permanent members of the Security Council have trivialised the illegal use of force. The failure to act vis-à-vis the genocide in Gaza represents a denial of the most basic values of humanity. The inability to overcome differences is fueling a new escalation of violence in the Middle East, the latest chapter of which includes the attack on Iran. The law of the strongest also threatens the multilateral trading system. Sweeping tariffs disrupt value chains and push the global economy into a spiral of high prices and stagnation. The World Trade Organisation has been hollowed out, and no one remembers the Doha Development Round. The 2008 financial collapse exposed the failure of neoliberal globalisation, but the world remained locked into the austerity playbook. The choice to bail out the ultra-wealthy and major corporations at the expense of ordinary citizens and small businesses has deepened inequality. In the past ten years, the $33.9 trillion accumulated by the world's richest 1 per cent is equivalent to 22 times the resources needed to eradicate global poverty. The stranglehold on the state's capacity for action has led to public distrust in institutions. Discontent has become fertile ground for extremist narratives that threaten democracy and promote hate as a political project. Many countries have cut cooperation programs instead of redoubling efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The available resources are insufficient, the costs are high, access is bureaucratic, and the conditions imposed often fail to respect local realities. This is not about charity, but about addressing disparities rooted in centuries of exploitation, interference, and violence against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. In a world with a combined GDP of over $100 trillion, it is unacceptable that more than 700 million people still suffer from hunger and live without electricity or water. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The richest countries bear the greatest historical responsibility for carbon emissions, yet it is the poorest who will suffer the most from climate change. The year 2024 was the hottest in history, showing that reality is moving faster than the Paris Agreement. The binding obligations of the Kyoto Protocol were replaced by voluntary commitments, and the financing pledges made at COP15 in Copenhagen — promising $100 billion annually — never materialised. The recent increase in NATO's military spending makes that possibility even more remote. Attacks on international institutions ignore the concrete benefits the multilateral system has brought to people's lives. If smallpox has been eradicated, the ozone layer preserved, and labour rights still protected in much of the world, it is thanks to the efforts of these institutions. In times of growing polarisation, terms like "deglobalization" have become commonplace. But it is impossible to "de-planetize" our shared existence. No wall is high enough to preserve islands of peace and prosperity surrounded by violence and misery. Today's world is vastly different from that of 1945. New forces have emerged, and new challenges have arisen. If international organisations seem ineffective, it is because their structure no longer reflects the current reality. Unilateral and exclusionary actions are worsened by the absence of collective leadership. The solution to the multilateralism crisis is not to abandon it, but to rebuild it on fairer and more inclusive foundations. This is the understanding that Brazil — whose vocation has always been to foster collaboration among nations — demonstrated during its G20 presidency last year and continues to demonstrate through its presidencies of the BRICS and COP30 this year: that it is possible to find common ground even in adverse scenarios. There is an urgent need to recommit to diplomacy and rebuild the foundations of true multilateralism — one capable of answering the outcry of a humanity fearful for its future. Only then can we stop passively watching the rise of inequality, the senselessness of war, and the destruction of our planet. * Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is the president of Brazil. This article was originally published at ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
BRICS+ in Rio: A Bold Voice for the Global South
General view during a plenary session of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 7, 2025. BRICS leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran. This week, the world watched as Rio de Janeiro became the epicenter of multipolar ambition. The XVII BRICS Summit, the first held in Brazil since the bloc's historic expansion – closed with the Rio Declaration, a sweeping 90+ point manifesto aimed at reshaping the world's economic and political architecture. Aspirational and unapologetically assertive, the declaration stands as a powerful counterpoint to the outdated neoliberal script that has dominated global governance since Bretton Woods. From the outset, BRICS+ made its intentions clear. This is no longer a loose coalition of 'emerging markets.' It is a political project rooted in sovereignty, fairness, and systemic reform, united by a shared determination to build a world that works for the majority, not just the privileged few. The summit's theme, Strengthening Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance, echoed loudly throughout Rio that this summit was not about following rules made in Washington or Brussels, but about rewriting them. With over half the world's population now represented across 11 full BRICS+ members and 11 additional partner countries, the group embodies the Global Majority. This summit reaffirmed the bloc's core message, that developing nations are not passive players in global affairs – they are protagonists. The Rio Declaration called for a 'reformed and reinvigorated multilateral system,' challenging the deep structural imbalances of institutions like the UN Security Council, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank (WB). These bodies, relics of the post-WWII order, no longer reflect global realities. Brazil and India were explicitly endorsed for expanded roles at the UN. African nations were rightly upheld as essential actors in shaping the future, a gesture that was both symbolic and strategic, recognising the continent's rising economic, cultural, and political influence. The Declaration was firm in its stance on sovereignty. BRICS+ leaders rejected the use of unilateral coercive measures, particularly economic sanctions not authorised by the UN Security Council. This wasn't just rhetorical, it was a statement of principle, aimed at ending the era of financial bullying disguised as diplomacy. Iran's presence in BRICS+ and the group's support for its sovereignty is significant. For decades, Iran has been subject to punishing sanctions regimes that cripple civilian infrastructure and stifle development. BRICS+ is emerging as a safe haven for nations resisting economic domination and choosing development on their own terms. This insistence on sovereignty extended to conflicts across the globe. The bloc denounced Israeli military strikes on Iran and voiced deep concern over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire and reiterating support for a two-state solution, grounded in international law and UN resolutions. These are not fringe opinions. These are globally resonant positions finally given the weight they deserve. In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats, including a proposed 10% levy on BRICS-aligned countries, the bloc took aim at 'indiscriminate tariff measures' that threaten global trade and economic stability. This was not merely a rebuke of U.S. policy but a rejection of a global economic model built on domination, conditionality, and coercion. In its place, BRICS+ is proposing a new framework. Discussions on a BRICS Cross-Border Payment System, a BRICS Multilateral Guarantee Agency, and a common digital currency framework show the group's commitment to building the financial infrastructure of the future. This is economic sovereignty in action, reducing dependency on the dollar and expanding the tools available to the Global South to finance its own development. The New Development Bank (NDB) continues to scale up its operations, providing an alternative to the austerity-driven lending models of the Bretton Woods institutions. With green finance, sustainable infrastructure, and digital transformation at the heart of its portfolio, the NDB is quietly becoming the financial backbone of the Global South's development agenda. The Rio Declaration also took aim at the politics of technology. With artificial intelligence poised to define global power in the decades ahead, BRICS+ made a clear stand. AI governance must be inclusive, equitable, and open to the Global South. The idea that transformative technologies should only serve a handful of elite economies is being firmly rejected. Instead, the bloc is pushing for shared knowledge, ethical frameworks, and collaboration. This extends to climate change, energy cooperation, digital infrastructure, and health sovereignty – areas where BRICS+ members are already exchanging knowledge, funding joint projects, and leading by example. Whether through the rollout of 5G to remote Brazilian schools, green hydrogen investments in South Africa, or AI partnerships between China and the UAE, BRICS+ is acting decisively in spaces where others have offered only platitudes. The geographic and political diversity of the expanded BRICS+, now including Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran, proves that the vision of a multipolar world is already in motion. The addition of 11 new partner countries, including Nigeria, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Cuba, only deepens the reach and legitimacy of this global project. This is not a bloc defined by ideology. It is defined by common purpose, to rebalance the global order, to restore dignity to international cooperation, and to place development, not dominance, at the center of diplomacy. In Rio de Janeiro, BRICS+ didn't just hold a summit, it laid the foundation for a new era of global leadership. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva rightly emphasised that 'it is up to emerging countries to defend the multilateral trade regime and reform the international financial architecture.' With its growing influence, coherent vision, and deepening partnerships, BRICS+ is proving that it is not a reactive force but a constructive one. One that speaks for the silenced, acts for the excluded, and plans for the generations to come. In the past, the Global South was told to wait its turn. In Rio, it stood up, took the pen, and began writing the rules. By Chloe Maluleke Associate at the BRICS+ Consulting Group Russian & Middle Eastern Specialist ** MORE ARTICLES ON OUR WEBSITE ** Follow @brics_daily on X/Twitter & @brics_daily on Instagram for daily BRICS+ updates
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
BRICS countries unite to blunt Trump's bullying
Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in discussion at the XVII BRICS Summit held on July 07, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Image: GCIS Kim Heller BRICS is a rising superpower. With an enviable geopolitical footprint across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, the BRICS countries collectively account for over 45% of global GDP. The 17th BRICS Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro this week, showcased the bloc's immense potential and steady growth. The Rio Declaration, adopted at the summit, sets out a compelling vision for a more equitable global economic matrix. The summit paraded BRICS as an ardent king-in-waiting in a royal quest for a global economic renaissance. It appears as if BRICS is shaping up, despite its internal economic and ideological asymmetries. There was an atmosphere of confidence and prowess at the summit, accompanied by a greater measure of strategic cohesion than in previous summits. The President of Brazil, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spoke of BRICS as a 'set of countries that want to find another way of organising the world from the economic perspective." The President of Brazil declared, "The world has changed. We don't want an emperor." Echoing this sentiment, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, who joined the meeting remotely, stated, "Everything indicates that the model of liberal globalisation is becoming obsolete. The centre of business activity is shifting towards the emerging markets." The architecture of today's global financial world is engineered to favour the Global North. According to the World Bank, the Global South accounted for 40% of global trade in 2024; however, its average tariffs of 6.5% were significantly higher than the 2.5% average for developed economies. The United States and the European Union continue to rule over the IMF and World Bank, while G7 countries dictate the global economic to shift inequalities and imbalances in the world's economic matrix and recalibrate global monetary policy, the BRICS summit focused on reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar and stimulating local currencies, trade, and investment. This includes a ten billion U.S. dollar investment platform via the New Development Bank to drive, incentivise, and boost trade and infrastructural development within and across BRICS nations. Multilateral guarantees will help reduce financing costs. To achieve more equitable monetary policies, practices, and participation, BRICS reiterated its call for stronger representation on the United Nations Security Council and for IMF quota reforms to be implemented by the end of the year. Trade statistics of BRICS countries. Image: Graphic News The Rio de Janeiro Declaration reiterated the need for developed nations to fulfil their climate change obligations. China and the UAE committed to supporting Brazil's "Tropical Forests Forever" Africa's President, Cyril Ramaphosa, described BRICS as a platform for sovereign economic coordination free from geopolitical coercion. But U.S. President Donald Trump wasted no time in threatening countries that aligned with "anti-American BRICS policies" with an additional 10% tariff. He has stated that BRICS was created to destroy the U.S. dollar. Several BRICS leaders have retaliated, condemning the weaponisation of tariffs. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated that the arbitrary increase in tariffs does not serve anyone. He spoke of the dollar's domination as more than just an economic issue. "It is a 'geopolitical chokehold." Speaking out against Trump's new tariff warning, President Ramaphosa said, "There needs to be greater appreciation of the emergence of various centres of power in the world, as the declaration observed, and this should be seen in a positive light rather than in a negative light." Ramaphosa also stated that "These powers should be seen as complementary, as advancing the interests of people.' Donald Trump cannot conceive of a world where the dollar is not the gold standard. But a new world is waiting to be born. It may not be tomorrow, but it is in the making. Reflecting on the BRICS Summit, President Narendra Modi of India spoke about how the moment reaffirmed the commitment to shared growth. He said, "The Global South isn't begging for fairness, it's demanding it. The economic order's bias is a relic, and BRICS is ready to rewrite the rules.' The re-engineering of power relations is vital for BRICS, as U.S. dollar dependence creates and reinforces economic power inequalities and imbalances, keeping the Global South hooked on a global order that treats it as a junior partner. However, for now, BRICS is no match for the U.S. With many of its member states highly dependent on U.S. markets and trade, de-dollarisation has little currency for now. It is unlikely that countries such as India and Brazil, as well as newcomers Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will compromise their economic relations with the U.S. in the short to medium term. The U.S. dollar is King for now. There will be small, gradual wins for BRICS. Already, the lion's share of Russia's trade with BRICS partners is dollar-free. China is currently using BRICS Pay, albeit on a small-scale, pilot basis. However, with low currency swaps and conversions, and poor equity, the grand plans for a shared BRICS currency and a SWIFT alternative are remote. This may change over time. De-dollarisation will need to be correctly paced, especially given the vastly different relations member states have with the U.S. The process of de-dollarisation and the overhaul of the global economic system is likely to be slow and laboured and distinctly uneven across different member states, economic sectors, and industries. Trump's distasteful bully boy tactics will eventually wear thin, and U.S. relations will falter. The bloc's challenge is to keep its diverse assembly of member states united around a common vision of a world where the Global South will be the leading player in world economic affairs. BRICS needs to play the long game. * Kim Heller is a political analyst and author of No White Lies: Black Politics and White Power in South Africa. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
