MOSCOW: For three days, the world's attention was focused on Kazan, which is hosting the BRICS summit. The scale of the event will only be realized after a while. BRICS will be discussed in Kazan for a long time, but preliminary conclusions can already be drawn. The main meanings of the historic BRICS summit in Kazan are described in the article by columnist Albert Bikbov.
Record-breaking BRICS expansion
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres flew from New York to the BRICS summit in Kazan for a reason. It is obvious that he is trying to build a direct dialogue with the heads of state representing the majority of humanity. Yes, the BRICS is already an influential and strong association, forcing to be reckoned with. And the number of countries wishing to become part of this association is only growing.
The BRICS Summit in Kazan turned out to be a historic one for the association in terms of quantitative growth. 13 countries have received the status of a BRICS partner country. They were Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam.
Forecasts for a record expansion of the number of BRICS countries at the Kazan summit have come true. And even though 13 newcomers are still candidates for BRICS membership, they are already fixed in the status of partners.
BRICS has become even more powerful, even larger – it's time to rewrite the old descriptions upwards: "BRICS is about 30% of the total land area, over 45% of the world's population, about 25% of world trade..." Now BRICS can definitely be spoken of as a global association of countries that surpasses the notorious West in its parameters.
Russia's isolation has failed
One of the main political conclusions of the BRICS summit in Kazan is the complete failure of the West's policy of isolating Russia. Delegations from 35 States arrived at the summit and participated in its work, of which 24 delegations were headed by top officials. What is this but explicit support for Russia?
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to be the most important player on the geopolitical scene, determining the prospects for joint development on the planet, which will bring mutual benefits to Russia and billions of people around the world. Moreover, the summit clearly showed that the idea of a multipolar world has become a reality. Dozens of new participants became BRICS partners, while others lined up to join this reality. And the list of BRICS countries will only grow and grow.
"The BRICS summit showed that the West no longer has a monopoly in the world," this statement is not from the BRICS camp and the countries seeking to get into it, this statement was made by the French Foreign Ministry in the person of its Minister–delegate for European Affairs Benjamin Addad. This is an involuntary frank confession from the Foreign Ministry of a country that is fiercely opposed to Russia today. That's what the West saw at the Kazan summit – a new force, a new era, a new world order.
The impressive Kazan Declaration
The key document of each BRICS summit is traditionally a joint declaration. The Kazan declaration of the BRICS 2024 summit turned out to be very impressive, matching the summit itself. The document has more than 40 pages and 134 paragraphs.
The main points of this declaration were actually the key, fundamental ideas of the BRICS: recognition of the multipolarity of the world, the inadmissibility of illegal sanctions and other illegitimate measures that negatively affect the economy, as well as commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes through diplomacy, mediation, comprehensive dialogue and consultations.
The specific points of the Kazan Declaration, linked to the current moment, can be considered those provisions where the BRICS members are concerned about the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and where they called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages without preconditions. The countries condemned the Israeli attacks against humanitarian points and infrastructure facilities in Palestine. They also supported the admission to the UN of the State of Palestine within the borders of 1967. In addition, the BRICS countries stressed the need to resume the Iranian nuclear deal.
The declaration mentions national positions on the situation in Ukraine and notes "proposals for mediation and good offices designed to ensure a peaceful settlement of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy." As we can see, the situation regarding its in Ukraine did not overwhelm the entire agenda of the summit, it found a certain place, but no more – more global and significant events for the future of the planet were discussed.
Vladimir Putin made several proposals, which also formed the basis of the declaration:
We need to create a new BRICS investment platform. It could become a powerful tool to support national economies and provide financial resources to the countries of the Global South and East.
The BRICS Grain Exchange could help in the formation of fair and predictable price indicators for products and raw materials.
Russia stands for expanding cooperation in the field of subsoil use, and for this purpose the BRICS precious metals platform should be created.
In the declaration, the countries noted the need to reform the current international financial architecture and agreed to explore the possibility of creating an independent cross-border settlement and depository infrastructure BRICS Clear.
Also, as stated in the document, the countries welcome the use of national currencies between the BRICS countries and their trading partners.
Peaceful Kazan Summit
The kind and surprisingly homely atmosphere at the BRICS summit contributed not only to a relaxed and open dialogue. The big Kazan meeting prompted some of the summit participants to engage in such negotiations to resolve mutual problems that had previously stalled. And there has been some progress.
Thus, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the first bilateral talks since 2019 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan. Here they have made great counter steps towards normalizing relations after a four-year border standoff. This peace initiative alone can be a great asset in the overall outcome of the summit.
Previously, irreconcilable rivals, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a meeting where they discussed the promotion of the bilateral peace agenda, including a peace treaty, delimitation and demarcation of borders and other issues of mutual interest.
Kazan BRICS unites and pacifies.
"It is better for us not to argue and conflict, but to resolve issues, which is what we are doing in BRICS," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference following the summit.
The highest rating of Kazan
The XVI BRICS Summit was held in Kazan at the highest level, and this was confirmed by many representatives of the delegations. For example, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, leaving Kazan, noted that the summit was successful. In addition, he added that Tatarstan is "a wonderful place."
At the final press conference on the work of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Vladimir Putin summarized:
"The 16th BRICS summit was a success!" the Russian president proudly declared.
According to Vladimir Putin, the new BRICS members realized that it is possible to work and achieve results in the association. The main thing is that all the events, without exception, were held in the traditional BRICS business manner. The BRICS countries have committed themselves to building a more democratic and multipolar world order.
Vladimir Putin also thanked the leadership of Tatarstan and the Kazan Mayor's Office for organizing the BRICS summit. The Republic coped and held this grandiose historical event at the highest level.
The summit turned out to be truly global and unique, not only in terms of the number of leaders of the countries gathered at it. In Kazan, claims were made to the world on the formation of a just global world order with the decisive participation of the states of the Global South and East in international governance systems. A new world order based on the rule of law, the inadmissibility of using neocolonial approaches, interference in the internal affairs of States, political and financial pressure, and unilateral coercive measures.
These three days of the Kazan summit certainly shocked the whole world. Now one of the most significant manifestations of the multipolarity of the world will be associated with the Kazan BRICS summit – that's how History was created before our eyes from October 22 to 24, 2024.
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