2023-08-07 22:45:00
The summit will be held from August 22 to 24 in South Africa. Photo: archive 2022 AFP
The summit that the Brics group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will hold this month will aim to encourage their trade with Africa, according to what the South African government, host of the meeting, announced on Monday.
The leaders of Brazil, China, India and South Africa and the head of Russian diplomacy will be at the meeting, which will take place from August 22 to 24 in Johannesburg with the theme “The Brics and Africa”detailed the South African chancellor, Naledi Pandor.
The continent has become a diplomatic battleground in recent years between Western powers Russia and China seeking to expand their influence amid fierce competition for mineral resources and tensions exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
“Our theme reflects our conviction about the benefits that a partnership with Africa can bring to the BRICS”Pandor highlighted at a press conference.
The group The BRICS see themselves as a counterweight to the global economic dominance of the Western powers.
of the conversations representatives of other African countries will participate as guests and, among others, the president of Bolivia, Luis Arceand the discussions will also focus on the possibilities of investments in the continent, added Pandor.
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; His Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have already confirmed his presence.
Foreign Minister Lavrov will go to the summit on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP
Russia, on the other hand, will be represented by its Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and President Vladimir Putin will intervene by videoconference.
Putin, with an international arrest warrant on charges that Russian troops deported children from areas of Ukraine, decided last month not to leave his country.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently expressed his interest in participating in the summit of the five emerging powers, but Pandor considered that aspiration “quite funny” because “no such invitation was sent” to the president.
It is likely that the summit will also serve to discuss eventual new additions to the bloc.
Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (USA) are candidates to join, but also Bolivia, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Turkeyay others showed interest in joining the bloc.
The Brics group together represents 42% of the world population and generates 31.5% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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