Foreign ministers of nations comprising an economic bloc led by China and Russia have made clear they intend to rebalance global power, saying they aim for a ‘multipolar’ dynamic even as they strive to stand in the center.
“At the heart of the problems we face is economic concentration which leaves too many nations at the mercy of too few,” Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said after the meeting of BRICS countries.
Jaishankar stressed that the five nations making up the group should “send a strong message that the world is multipolar, that it is rebalancing and that old ways cannot cope with new situations”.
The BRICS, named after their member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, met this week in Cape Town. Discussions focused on potential membership expansion and the potential for an alternative currency that could “ensure that we don’t fall victim to sanctions having a side effect on countries” following the sanctions on Russia for his invasion of Ukraine.
BUREAUCRATS SHOULD NOT IMPOSE GLOBAL AI POLICY IN ‘FANCY, HIGH-LEVEL MEETINGS’, EXPERT WARNS
Chinese Vice Minister Ma Zhaoxu expressed strong support for more countries joining the bloc to help it expand its influence and increase its power.
READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP
“I think BRICS enlargement will be good for BRICS countries,” he said, saying the group was “inclusive … in stark contrast to the small circle of some countries.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a dozen countries had expressed interest in joining, and South African BRICS Ambassador Anil Sooklal said European countries had asked questions on their membership, according to South African news outlet News 24.
The list of potential new members would include Iran and Saudi Arabia, both of which had representatives in Cape Town to attend the BRICS meeting. Other promising candidates are Venezuela, Argentina, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates.
ISRAEL CALLS CHIEF NUCLEAR GUARD, ACCUSES HIM OF SETTING ‘EXTREMELY DANGEROUS’ DEAL WITH IRAN
The BRICS have recently emerged as an alternative to the G7, which met last month in Japan for its annual summit. The group started out as a loose conglomerate, but China and Russia have given it more concrete form in recent years as they seek to refocus global power dynamics.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira called the group an “indispensable mechanism” to counterbalance the Western influence of the G7, made up of the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, France, from Italy and Germany.
A question that overshadowed the meeting remained whether South Africa would be forced to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against him for war crimes, in particular child abduction, allegedly committed in Ukraine.
US URGES WARTING SIDEES IN SUDAN TO REPRESS CEASFIRE AS PEACE EFFORTS COLLAPSE
South Africa, as a signatory to the 1998 Rome Statute, would likely be forced to arrest Putin if he attended this meeting or any future meeting within its borders, but officials have considered arresting Putin. get diplomatic immunity for Putin to get around the problem.
“Russia attaches enormous importance to the development of this format of integration. And Russia will participate in this summit at the appropriate level,” Russian press secretary Dmitry Peskov said at a recent press conference. “Of course, we rely at a minimum on partner countries in such an important format who are not guided by such illegal decisions.”
A statement from Clayson Monyela, South Africa’s head of public diplomacy, said on Tuesday that he was “standard” practice for Cape Town and “all countries” to grant immunity to officials attending international conferences “regardless of the level of attendance”.
Caitlin McFall of Fox News Digital and Reuters contributed to this report.