The 2024 BRICS summit is being held in Kazan, Russia. This is the first time the economic bloc has gathered since its expansion a year ago.
Russia will host the leaders of the BRICS member countries for three days, including the leaders of new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Putin hopes that this BRICS summit can signify to the world the rising importance of the non-Western world following Russia’s isolation from the West after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out.
While the group forms one united economic bloc, their interests and objectives vary as each country finds themselves in differing financial situations with some connections to the West.
What are the objectives of the BRICS summit?
According to Reuters, The 22 leaders attending the BRICS summit represent nations that account for about 45 percent of the world’s population and 35 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
While some nations in BRICS are more prosperous than others combined, the group holds significant power. The top seven economies in the world have a combined GDP of 30 percent, which is expected to decrease to 28 percent in 2024. The bloc hopes to achieve this during the BRICS summit, but, primarily, it hopes to establish itself as a true power that rivals the West.
Many BRICS members believe that “the current global order is kind of made by the West, for the West,” said Stewart Patrick, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Challenging what they believe to be the current global order and showcasing its new member states is a significant objective of the BRICS summit as a whole. However, many other nations in the bloc are hoping for different outcomes outside of a representation of their power at the BRICS summit.
Ending the war and other ends
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified India’s objectives for the 2024 BRICS summit. Modi hopes to work with Russia to end the war in Ukraine peacefully, and New Delhi is ready to assist both parties in attaining a resolution.
“We have been in constant touch on the subject of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” said Modi. “We believe that problems should be resolved only through peaceful means.”
India’s PM says peace is of top priority in ending the war and that India will always strive for peace. “We fully support the early restoration of peace and stability. All our efforts give priority to humanity. India is ready to provide all possible support in the times to come,” said Modi.
Modi said he would speak to Putin about a peaceful resolution during the BRICS summit. China, meanwhile, is working to ensure that everything that happens at the summit benefits its own interests.
Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said, “Nothing happens in the BRICS that goes against the national interests of China.”
China is arguably the most prominent economic player in the BRICS economic bloc, and every member state is involved in some trade with the nation in one way or another. China’s most significant rival at the BRICS summit is India, and while China’s growth is stagnating, India’s is experiencing exponential growth.
Still, both India and China are reassessing their relationship in the hopes of a truce after soldiers from both sides died in a border fight in 2022.