BRICS

Ukraine war: failed African peace mission underscores need for more powerful political and military pressure on Putin

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 22, 2023

Led by South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa, the delegation included leaders and senior officials from Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, Egypt, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia.

Key Points: 
  • Led by South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa, the delegation included leaders and senior officials from Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, Egypt, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia.
  • Their plan was based on establishing a ceasefire “through negotiations and diplomatic means”.
  • An earlier initiative by the Vatican was rejected by Zelensky immediately after his meeting with Pope Francis on May 13.

The China card

    • Officially announced on February 24 2023, the first anniversary of the invasion, western leaders were not particularly enthusiastic – but did not reject it out of hand either.
    • Zelensky signalled cautious optimism about China’s engagement in mediation after his hour-long phone call with Xi at the end of April.

West still favour’s Kyiv plan

    • The western favourite, so far, remains the Ukrainian peace plan.
    • This was first presented as a five-point plan by Zelensky at the UN General Assembly meeting in September 2022.
    • Then, and also at the May 2023 G7 summit in Hiroshima, Zelensky proposed further discussions at a global peace summit.

Mutual distrust

    • Notwithstanding these problems, pressure on both sides to start negotiating an end to the war will continue to grow.
    • The African peace mission was significantly motivated by the fact that the countries on the continent have massively suffered from the economic consequences of the war.
    • These are extremely important engagements because they create incentives for Beijing not to throw its full weight behind Moscow.
    • The more successful Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the stronger its position in the run-up to negotiations and at the negotiation table.

A BRICS currency is unlikely to dislodge dollar any time soon – but it signifies growing challenge to established economic order

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 22, 2023

In August 2023, South Africa will host the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – a group of nations known by the acronym BRICS.

Key Points: 
  • In August 2023, South Africa will host the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – a group of nations known by the acronym BRICS.
  • Among the items on the agenda is the creation of a new joint BRICS currency.
  • As a scholar who has studied the BRICS countries for over a decade, I can certainly see why talk of a BRICS currency is, well, gaining currency.

De-dollarization momentum?

    • The BRICS countries have been pursuing a wide range of initiatives to decrease their dependence on the dollar.
    • Over the past year, Russia, China and Brazil have turned to greater use of non-dollar currencies in their cross-border transactions.
    • And central banks have sought to shift more of their currency reserves away from the dollar and into gold.
    • Lula is a longtime proponent of BRICS who previously sought to reduce Brazil’s dependence on and vulnerability to the dollar.
    • Yet a former White House economist sees a way that a BRICS currency could end dollar dominance.

Currency ambitions

    • Although talk of a BRICS currency has gained momentum, there is limited information on various models under consideration.
    • But negotiating a single currency would be difficult given the economic power asymmetries and complex political dynamics within BRICS.
    • To achieve a global currency status, BRICS would need a strong track record of joint currency management to convince others that the new currency is reliable.

From BRICS vision to reality

    • Big ideas like developing a BRICS credit rating agency and creating a BRICS undersea cable never materialized.
    • BRICS has deepened its cooperation, invested in new financial institutions and has been continuously broadening the range of policy issues it addresses.
    • But I believe focusing on the BRICS currency risks missing the forest for the trees.
    • A new global economic order will not emerge out of a new BRICS currency or de-dollarization happening overnight.

The Global South is forging a new foreign policy in the face of war in Ukraine, China-US tensions: Active nonalignment

Retrieved on: 
Friday, June 16, 2023

On the face of it, perhaps not much.

Key Points: 
  • On the face of it, perhaps not much.
  • This has included conversations with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington, Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and in a teleconference call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
  • It has also seen “shuttle diplomacy” by Lula’s chief foreign policy adviser – and former foreign minister – Celso Amorim, who has visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and welcomed his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Brasília.
  • I believe to ask the question is to answer it.

Neither neutral nor disinterested

    • For many countries in the Global South, maintaining good relations with both Washington and Beijing has been crucial for economic development, as well as trade and investment flows.
    • Being neutral means not taking a stance, which is not the case in active nonalignment.
    • While on others – say, international trade – the country may side more with China.

Opting out across the world

    • And Brazil isn’t the only country in the Global South taking that position, although it was the first to attempt to broker a peace agreement.
    • Across Africa, Asia and Latin America, several key countries have refused to side with NATO.
    • Some of the most populous democracies in the world in addition to India – countries like Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina – have refused to side with NATO.

How the ‘great powers’ are reacting

    • China, in turn, has ramped up its campaign to enhance the international role of the yuan, arguing that the weaponization of the U.S. dollar against Russia only confirms the dangers of relying on it as the main world currency.
    • But I would argue that active nonalignment depends as much on regional multilateralism and cooperation as it does on these high-profile meetings.
    • A recent South American diplomatic summit in Brasília called by Lula – the first such meeting held in 10 years – reflects Brazil’s awareness of the need to work with neighbors to deploy its international initiatives.

Think local, act global

    • This need to act jointly is also driven by the region’s economic crisis.
    • The region also suffered the highest COVID-19 death rate anywhere in the world, accounting for close to 30% of global fatalities from the pandemic despite comprising just over 8% of the world’s population.
    • To many nations in the Global South, calls to uphold the “rules-based order” appear to serve only the foreign policy interests of the great powers, rather than the global public good.

Diane Wang Emphasizes the Significance of Digital Tools in Boosting Women Entrepreneurship at the 2023 BRICS Women's Leadership Forum

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, June 7, 2023

"All parties are in action, but I would like to reiterate to strengthen multilateral cooperation in the digital capability building for women, help women to access digital skills in a practical way to realize entrepreneurship," she added.

Key Points: 
  • "All parties are in action, but I would like to reiterate to strengthen multilateral cooperation in the digital capability building for women, help women to access digital skills in a practical way to realize entrepreneurship," she added.
  • "The road for women to form and grow a business is long and difficult," said Diane, who founded DHGATE in 2004.
  • "We will continue to persist with this project and continuously expand its influence to drive and assist more women entrepreneurs," said Diane.
  • During the 2023 BRICS Women's Leadership Forum, the BRICS Women's Development Report for 2023 was also published to provide an overview of the current state and progress of women's development in these countries.

South Africa's role as host of the BRICS summit is fraught with dangers. A guide to who is in the group, and why it exists

Retrieved on: 
Friday, June 2, 2023

South Africa will host the BRICS summit in August 2023.

Key Points: 
  • South Africa will host the BRICS summit in August 2023.
  • South Africa could face the wrath of its BRICS partners if it fulfils its international obligation and arrests him.
  • Hosting the 2023 BRICS summit is therefore fraught with dangers.

Who are the BRICS?

    • These countries decided that Goldman Sachs had a point and that they could enhance their global influence if they cooperated.
    • They first met at a ministerial level in 2006 and at a leaders’ summit in 2009.
    • The group has also sought, through groups like its business forum, to promote greater economic cooperation between the participating countries.

What has the BRICS grouping achieved?

    • They contend that it is a “new” multilateral development bank which offers its members an alternative to institutions like the World Bank.
    • It claims that its governance is fairer than the World Bank because its five original members all have equal votes.
    • It has provided US$32.8 billion to 96 projects in the 5 BRICS countries and it has begun looking to expand the scope of its operations.
    • But another important reason is that the BRICS are not unified in their demands for reform.
    • Similarly, not all the other BRICS have supported South Africa’s call for a third African seat on the IMF’s board of directors.

Are there any downsides to BRICS membership?

    • These changes have created both opportunities and challenges for the BRICS.
    • One opportunity arises from the fact that approximately 19 countries in the Global South, including Argentina, Cuba, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have expressed an interest in joining the BRICS.
    • It is expected that the BRICS will consider the issue of membership at their upcoming August 2023 summit.
    • However, given the complex economic and political relations between the BRICS member states, there is considerable scepticism about the feasibility of the BRICS developing a new global currency in the near term.

What hangs on the summit?

    • The G20, which brings together the 20 leading economic powers in the world, has called itself the “premier forum” for global economic governance.
    • Planning for this G20 event must begin soon because in 2024 South Africa will join India, the current G20 host, and Brazil, the 2024 G20 host in the troika that manages the G20 process.

Did South Africa sell arms to Russia? Only a series of unlikely scenarios could have made it possible

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

On 11 May 2023 the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, claimed that South Africa had secretly exported arms to Russia in December 2022.

Key Points: 
  • On 11 May 2023 the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, claimed that South Africa had secretly exported arms to Russia in December 2022.
  • The announcement rapidly fed into a popular narrative that South Africa was increasingly siding with Russia in relation to Moscow’s aggressive war in Ukraine.
  • Brigety’s statements made both South African and international news headlines, including the Wall Street Journal, CNN and the Financial Times.
  • Furthermore, as demonstrated in the UN Register of Conventional Arms database, Russia has rarely imported South African arms.

Imports and exports

    • Indeed the Arms Control Committee’s 2019 arms import report lists the permit approval for the import of five million rounds of Russian ammunition to South Africa.
    • Over the years, even the US and the UK have imported arms from Russia according to the UN Register of Conventional Arms.
    • Reports at the time indicate that containers were offloaded in the harbour and then transported to secure locations under tight security.

US accusations of South African arms to Russia

    • Brigety claimed that the US government had intelligence reports indicating that prior to the Lady R departing from Simon’s Town, South African ammunition and possibly arms were loaded onto the vessel and then transported to Russia.
    • South Africa has one of the most comprehensive arms export laws in Africa, the cornerstones of which are transparency and human rights considerations.
    • Traditionally Russia could be considered a South African ally due to the BRICS arrangement.
    • However, reports of Russian perpetrated human rights abuses in Ukraine would most likely override other considerations in terms of South Africa’s arms export considerations.
    • All arms export applications by arms exporters are carefully considered by a scrutiny committee and, thereafter, by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee.
    • The annual arms export reports show that South Africa generally adheres to the Section 15 criteria.
    • If the Arms Control Committee had considered an application to export arms and or ammunition to Russia, then consensus among cabinet ministers would have been necessary.

The devil is in the intelligence reports

    • But such an endeavour would have required the payment of considerable bribes to officials on the docks and the manufacture of fraudulent export documentation.
    • The crux of the arms-to-Russia allegations relates to the content of the US intelligence reports.

Malaysian Genomics Inks Agreement in Expansion to Bangladesh

Retrieved on: 
Monday, May 15, 2023

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia, May 15, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Berhad (Bursa: MGRC, 0155), a leading genomics and biopharmaceutical specialist, today announced a strategic cooperation agreement (SCA) with Toticell Limited for the distribution of the Group's products in Bangladesh.

Key Points: 
  • PETALING JAYA, Malaysia, May 15, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Berhad (Bursa: MGRC, 0155), a leading genomics and biopharmaceutical specialist, today announced a strategic cooperation agreement (SCA) with Toticell Limited for the distribution of the Group's products in Bangladesh.
  • Mr. Sasha Nordin, CEO of Malaysian Genomics said, "Bangladesh represents a market with vast opportunities given its population of approximately 165 million people.
  • Malaysian Genomics is delighted to cooperate with Toticell to bring our products and services to Bangladesh."
  • Mr. Azri Azerai, Executive Director of Malaysian Genomics, said, "This collaboration with Toticell falls in line with Malaysian Genomics' strategic expansion plan which includes diversifying geographically and globally."

South Africa walks a tightrope of international alliances - it needs Russia, China and the west

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, May 11, 2023

For China, the US is the source of global insecurity.

Key Points: 
  • For China, the US is the source of global insecurity.
  • The growing tensions pose a political and economic challenge for South Africa.
  • I argue that South Africa should not choose between its BRICS or EU and US partnerships.
  • The west remains economically significant for South Africa, but the BRICS bloc is important for South Africa’s economic adaptability.

The BRICS bloc

    • At its 2011 summit, the bloc called for an end to the long reign of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency (de-dollarisation).
    • The emergence of BRICS not only strengthens south-south relations, it weakens the inequality that characterises north-south relations.
    • Read more:
      South Africa and Russia: President Cyril Ramaphosa's foreign policy explained

      The BRICS bloc serves as a counterweight to some of the excesses of US unilateralism that’s been a feature of global governance since the end of the Soviet Union in 1989.

    • The emergence of the BRICS bloc has overshadowed the G7+ meetings while centralising the G20 as an international platform for political and economic coordination.

South Africa and the west

    • South Africa is the largest US and EU trading partner in Africa, with the US totalling R289 billion (about US$16 billion in 2021) and the EU totalling a trade of R699 billion (about US$ 38 billion in 2021.
    • South Africa also benefits from the preferential access to US markets for some of its exports in terms of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA.

BRICS’ growing economic importance

    • Trade and investment links between South Africa and China have improved too.
    • Investments from South Africa into BRICS countries have surged since it became a bloc member.
    • And China is an important trading partner for South Africa standing at R479 billion (about US$26 billion), above the US.

Navitaging anxieties

    • Of course, the problem of South Africa’s strained relations with the west is not South Africa’s.
    • Read more:
      How values, interests and power must shape South Africa's foreign policy

      For its own interests, South Africa must carefully navigate western anxieties about BRICS, and demonstrate that there is a common future for both the west and others in a multipolar world.

CCTV+: Video Series on Classics Quoted by Xi to Be Aired on Russian Media

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 21, 2023

BEIJING, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian-language edition of the second season of China Media Group's video series "Classics Quoted by Xi Jinping" will be broadcast by mainstream TV stations in Russia on the occasion of the Chinese president's three-day state visit, which started on Monday.

Key Points: 
  • BEIJING, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian-language edition of the second season of China Media Group's video series "Classics Quoted by Xi Jinping" will be broadcast by mainstream TV stations in Russia on the occasion of the Chinese president's three-day state visit, which started on Monday.
  • The series, which features Xi's quotes from ancient Chinese stories and classics in his speeches and articles, will be broadcast on Russia-24, a news channel owned by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, and aired simultaneously on its new media platform.
  • Russia's Big Asia TV channel, TV BRICS and other channels will also broadcast the video series.
  • It also extracts and interprets the broad and profound traditional Chinese culture that contains the connotation of the new era and the values of globalization.

CCTV+: Video Series on Classics Quoted by Xi to Be Aired on Russian Media

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 21, 2023

BEIJING, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian-language edition of the second season of China Media Group's video series "Classics Quoted by Xi Jinping" will be broadcast by mainstream TV stations in Russia on the occasion of the Chinese president's three-day state visit, which started on Monday.

Key Points: 
  • BEIJING, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian-language edition of the second season of China Media Group's video series "Classics Quoted by Xi Jinping" will be broadcast by mainstream TV stations in Russia on the occasion of the Chinese president's three-day state visit, which started on Monday.
  • The series, which features Xi's quotes from ancient Chinese stories and classics in his speeches and articles, will be broadcast on Russia-24, a news channel owned by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, and aired simultaneously on its new media platform.
  • Russia's Big Asia TV channel, TV BRICS and other channels will also broadcast the video series.
  • It also extracts and interprets the broad and profound traditional Chinese culture that contains the connotation of the new era and the values of globalization.