16th BRICS Summit kicks off in Russia’s Kazan
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Discussions at the summit are expected to include the establishment of a digital payments platform, known as the BRICS Bridge, as well as strategies to boost trade using national currencies.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his meeting with President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at Kazan Kremlin in Kazan, Russia on October 22, 2024. (AP)
The 16th BRICS Summit kicked off on Tuesday in Kazan, Russia, and is set to continue until October 24. According to Russian media reports, the summit will host 36 nations, including 22 presidential delegations and leaders from six international organizations.
As the incoming chair for 2024, Russia plans to focus on three key themes during its presidency: politics, security, and cooperation in economic, financial, humanitarian, and cultural areas. To support these objectives, Moscow has organized over 200 political, economic, and social events aimed at enhancing collaboration among BRICS nations.
Discussions at the summit are expected to include the establishment of a digital payments platform, known as the BRICS Bridge, as well as strategies to boost trade using national currencies. This summit is particularly significant as it is the first gathering since five additional nations—Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia—joined BRICS in January 2024.
More countries have also been eyeing BRICS memberships, such as Turkiye and Zimbabwe.
Kazan, located in the Republic of Tatarstan, welcomed the first guests formally on Tuesday, as reported by Sputnik. The summit will cover topics, such as strengthening multilateralism, integrating new members into the bloc, and addressing regional challenges.
On the sidelines of the event, President Putin is scheduled to meet with the leaders of India, China, South Africa, Egypt, and Brazil. He will also hold discussions with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts on the final day of the summit.
BRICS, originally established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, expanded with South Africa joining in 2011, and continues to evolve as a coalition of emerging economies.
BRICS summit, not US elections, to define history: Russia Fed. Council
Russian Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko stated on Saturday that the three-day BRICS summit, rather than the upcoming US presidential elections, will determine the future trajectory of history and will be closely monitored across all continents.
In a post on her Telegram channel, Matviyenko wrote, "The world has changed seriously and radically. Therefore, the next presidential elections in the United States will not be the most significant event this year for the international community, and they certainly will not determine the future course of history; rather, the BRICS summit will be the main event."
Matviyenko emphasized her firm belief that in Kazan (the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia) in 2024, indicators and directions for human development will be established, not in the "shaky United States."
She added that "the three days of the BRICS summit and discussions among the leaders of the global majority in Tatarstan will have the main impact on our future," asserting that "it will be the Kazan summit, not the results of the US elections, that will influence the world, contrary to what US media are trying to impose."
Matviyenko expressed her conviction that responsible politicians in sovereign countries understand this, and the clear evidence is the level of representation at the summit and the increase in requests to join the bloc.
In September, an article published in The Times claimed that the expansion of BRICS "should worry NATO."
"BRICS is not, has never been and is not going to become a military union. BRICS is not even an international organization or an integration structure, but a multinational union of equal members," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, commenting on the article.
The Ministry added that BRICS is a comprehensive strategic partnership based on three key pillars: politics and security, economics and finance, and cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
"Relations between the BRICS partners are based on equality, mutual respect, openness, pragmatism, solidarity and, which is the most important of all, not opposing anyone," the statement read.
The ministry noted that one of BRICS' primary objectives is to establish a fair and multilateral global economic system, highlighting the bloc's consistent support for the peaceful resolution of international disputes based on international law and respect for state sovereignty.
