Yearly BRICS summit begins in Brazil
(MENAFN) The 17th annual BRICS summit has officially started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. The two-day gathering will focus on topics such as global development, governance, international policy, and multilateral collaboration.
Although an official attendee list hasn’t been released, Brazilian officials estimate over 4,000 participants from 37 countries will attend, including high-ranking representatives from member states, partner nations, and international organizations.
Brazil has set six key priorities for this year’s summit: enhancing global health cooperation; advancing trade, investment, and finance; addressing climate change; establishing governance frameworks for artificial intelligence; reforming the multilateral peace and security system; and strengthening institutional development within BRICS. Rio’s Deputy Mayor Eduardo Cavalieri also announced the city’s formal proposal to host a permanent BRICS headquarters.
Russia will be represented in person by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while President Vladimir Putin will participate remotely via video link. China’s delegation is led by Prime Minister Li Qiang, as President Xi Jinping is absent for the first time in 12 years due to scheduling conflicts. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will also not attend. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have already arrived, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to join.
BRICS was originally formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. Recently, full membership has expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Indonesia. Together, the bloc now accounts for nearly half of the world’s population and roughly 40% of global GDP by purchasing power parity, surpassing the G7 economies. Last year’s summit in Kazan, Russia, introduced a new ‘partner country’ status to accommodate the growing interest from over 30 nations.
The summit’s highlight, a plenary session titled ‘Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs, and Artificial Intelligence,’ is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. local time (7 p.m. GMT).
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